Tag Archives: safety

Changes to Indiana gun laws

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Effective July 1, 2022, gun owners in Indiana may go most places with their firearms, whether or not they have a license to carry and, yes, that means even at your local public library. HEA 1296, passed by the Indiana General Assembly in the 2022 legislative session, removes the requirement for firearm owners to have a license to carry a firearm in Indiana. How does this impact your local public library? Well, it doesn’t significantly, it just removes another restriction on gun owners in the state.

In 2011, the Indiana General Assembly created a law that prohibited political subdivisions from creating regulations related to firearms, including ammunition, storage and carrying. Public libraries are considered political subdivisions under Indiana law, so at that point, libraries lost the ability to keep firearms out of libraries. There are a few exceptions that would permit a library to regulate firearms in the library. For example, library boards can create and enforce a policy that prohibits or restricts the intentional display of a firearm at the library’s public meetings – meetings held by the library board or library board committees.

There is also an exception that allows employers to restrict employees who are on duty in the building from carrying a firearm. However, the employees must be allowed to keep their firearms in their locked vehicles stored in the glove compartment or trunk or otherwise out of plain view. Libraries cannot ask about firearm ownership on employment applications or make ownership or non-ownership a condition of employment.

Click here to read more about this new change in the law. To review the law as it pertains to government regulation of firearms, click here.

This blog post was written by Sylvia Watson, library law consultant and legal counsel, Indiana State Library. For more information, email Sylvia.

Keeping clean: Methods your State Library takes to make sure your library experience is safe

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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about sweeping changes to the way we live, work and interact with one another. Tasks we take for granted, such as going to the grocery store, meeting with friends and even going to the library to find materials for research have been made somewhat more challenging to carry out. Here at the Indiana State Library, we do a lot to keep everything clean and to ensure that both patrons, and ourselves, have a fun and safe library experience.

Several studies, such as the one illustrated in this comprehensive American Library Association article, have noted that the virus survives on hard surfaces for about two or three days, and up to 24 hours on paper. Sanitization is top priority at the library, and the staff makes sure to clean and disinfect all surfaces as often and thoroughly as possible. In the case of books, which understandably do not do well to be soaked in cleaners on a regular basis, they are placed in isolation for a set period of time until it is safe to return the materials to the stacks.

Patrons are welcome to come inside the building, but to encourage social distancing and personal safety, that library is operating on an appointment-only schedule. If you are a walk-in patron and didn’t make a prior appointment when you stop by, don’t worry. If we have appointment slots available, we will still be able to help you with your research needs. Seating arrangements to encourage social distancing are available, hand sanitizer is provided at the information desks and also next to each elevator in order to keep things clean, and to reduce the spread of the virus and other bacteria. Are you unavailable to come to the library personally? Patrons can chat with a librarian through Ask-a-Librarian, with no charge.

As per county mandates, face masks are required for entry into the library facility. Don’t have a mask? No worries. We provide free paper masks at our circulation and information desks. Simply ask the librarian or desk attendant and we will be happy to give you one. If you live in Marion County and you’re seeking something a bit more permanent and portable, the city of Indianapolis and IndyGo have partnered to provide free cloth face masks that can be picked up at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center in downtown Indianapolis. Masks can also be ordered online.

We hope that these procedures and precautions allow to you to fully utilize all the services the Indiana State Library has to offer, all while keeping you safe and giving you peace of mind.

Please call 317-232-3675, email or use our Ask-a-Librarian service to schedule an appointment.

This post was written by Damon Lawrence, library technician 2, Indiana State Library.