Are sign-in sheets for a Louisiana State Library workshop exempt from public records disclosure?

Plain-English summary

The Louisiana Lieutenant Governor asked whether a State Library class roster or sign-in sheet for a summer reading program workshop for librarians was confidential under La. R.S. 44:13. The Attorney General concluded that it was not covered by the cited library exemption.

The statute protects records showing which library materials an identifiable person used or borrowed. It also protects records kept to register people or determine eligibility to use library services. The AG read these exemptions narrowly and said a workshop sign-in sheet was neither a material-use record nor a record maintained to determine eligibility for library services. The opinion addressed this particular exemption and these workshop records.

What this means for you

State Library records custodians

For the workshop rosters and sign-in sheets described, the opinion says La. R.S. 44:13(B) does not provide a basis to withhold them. Its analysis distinguishes program attendance from registration for the use of library materials or services.

Public records requesters

The opinion rejects this library privacy exemption for the described workshop attendance records. It does not decide whether any other law could affect a different record or a different request.

Common questions

Q: Are sign-in sheets for a State Library workshop confidential as library records?
A: The AG said these workshop sign-in sheets are not exempt under La. R.S. 44:13(B).

Q: What kinds of records does that library exemption protect?
A: The opinion quotes protection for records identifying materials used or borrowed, and for registration or eligibility records for use of library services.

Q: Does signing in to a library workshop count as registration for library services?
A: The opinion said no for the summer reading workshop for librarians at issue. Its roster was outside the narrow statutory exemption.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 44:13(A) addresses records of identifiable people's use of library documents or materials. Subsection (B) extends protection to records kept for registration or eligibility for use of library services. Applying those purposes, the AG concluded that workshop attendance records did not meet the subsection (B) test.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 44:13(B), the registration and eligibility record exemption analyzed.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0102

Original opinion text

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE,
70804-9005

Liz MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

September 10, 2024
OPINION 24-0102

.
90-C Public Records
The Honorable Billy Nungesser
Lieutenant Governor
La. R.S. 44:13

Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Library workshop sign-in sheets are not exempt from
P.O. Box 44243
disclosure under the Public Records Law.

Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4243

Dear Lt. Governor Nungesser:

You ask whether certain records are exempt from disclosure under the Louisiana Public Records Law. The records at issue in your request are class rosters or sign-in sheets for a summer reading program workshop for librarians hosted by the State Library of Louisiana. You ask whether these records are specifically exempt under La. R.S. 44:13.

It is the opinion of this office that class rosters or sign-in sheets for workshops hosted by a library are not exemptfrom disclosure under La. R.S. 44:13(B).

Louisiana R.S. 44:13 is titled “Registration records and other records of use maintained by libraries.” Subsection A defines the records and the libraries to which the exemptions apply and further provides the circumstances under which the records may be disclosed.
Specifically, S ubsection A provides:

Notwithstanding any provisions of this Chapter or any other law to the contrary, records of any library which is in whole or in part supported by public funds, including the records of public, academic, school, and special libraries, and the State Library of Louisiana, indicating which of its documents or other materials, regardless of format, have been loaned to or used by an identifiable individual or group of individuals may not be disclosed except to a parent or custodian of a minor child seeking access to that child’s records, to persons acting within the scope of their duties in the administration of the library, to persons authorized in writing by the individual or group of individuals to inspect such records, or by order of a court of law.

In addition, La. R.S. 44:13(B) provides for additional records maintained by the applicable libraries and states, “records of any such library which are maintained for purposes of

Page 2

OPINION 24-0102
Honorable Billy Nungesser
Page 2

registration or for determining eligibility for the use of library services may not be disclosed except as provided in Subsection A of this Section.”

The foregoing exemptions to the Public Records Act, being in derogation of the public’s right to be reasonably informed, must be narrowly interpreted. City of Baton Rouge/Par. ofE. Baton Rouge v. Cap. CityPress, L.L.C., 2007-1088 (La. App. I Cir. 10/10/08), 4 So. 3d 807, 817. For a record to fall within this exemption, it must (1) be a record (2) maintained for the purposes of registration or determining eligibility (3) for the use of library services. The plain language of the exemption in this instance applies only to documents related to an individual’s use of library materials or registration to determine an individual’s eligibility for use. Sign-in sheets for a summer workshop for librarians does not fall within this narrow exemption. Accordingly, these records fall outside the exemption in La. R.S. 44:13(B).

We trust that this opinion has addressed the issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,
LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:
Carey T. Jones
Assistant Attorney General

LM/CTJ