The Logan-Hocking County District Library has been accused of violating the First Amendment in our Meeting Room Policy because of the cancelation of a reservation by a religious group. Nowhere in our meeting room policy does it state that religious groups cannot use our meeting room. Our meeting room policy states "The meeting and conference rooms (from now on referred to as ‘meeting space’) of the Logan-Hocking County District Library are for use by nonprofit groups or organizations or individuals that have a cultural, educational, or civic purpose." The board has clarified that religious groups are classified as an organization that has a cultural or education purpose, therefore they have the right to reserve the meeting room as any other nonprofit groups, organizations or individuals that have a cultural, educational or civic purpose. This meeting room reservation cancelation was a misunderstanding, I have corrected it, and I apologize for this oversight. I will be working with the library's policy committee to revise the meeting room policy and make it more specific and transparent. The Library’s mission is to continually support our community by providing free access to books, technology, programs and services and we take that mission seriously and work hard to fulfill that mission for the benefit of our community.
Sincerely,
Mary Leffler, Director