24FC:0081 Joe Monahan/Ames Public Library - Dismissal Order

Date:
12/19/2024

Subject:
Joe Monahan/Ames Public Library - Dismissal Order

Opinion:

The Iowa Public Information Board

COMES NOW, Erika Eckley, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Dismissal Order:

On September 9, 2024, Joe Monahan filed formal complaint 24FC:0081, alleging the Ames Public Library (APL) violated Iowa Code Chapter 22.

Facts

In mid-2024, the complainant, Joe Monahan, filed a series of Chapter 22 requests with the APL, seeking records of the library relating to SF 496, an education omnibus bill passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2023. In his requests, Monahan sought information related to the public library’s involvement in opposition to this bill.

Certain responsive records were provided. Of particular interest to Monahan were conversations involving the APL manager, who also serves as the treasurer of the Iowa Library Association (ILA) Executive Board. Monahan also sought emails involving the APL director the ILA.

One email record provided in response to Monahan’s Chapter 22 requests contains an email chain started to the ILA Executive Board with the subject line “TIMELY INFORMATION: potential amicus brief for SF 496.” This email, which was sent to the APL manager’s work email, provided updates on ILA’s efforts to challenge SF 496. In response, the APL manager replied:

"Hey Sam - We just got a public records request last week, so receiving this type of stuff at my work email is top of mind for me. Could you resend to people’s personal emails so that future conversation happens on more private servers?

Thank you as always for the amazing work you’re doing for Iowa libraries!"

The APL denied subsequent requests seeking emails sent to the employees’ private accounts.

On September 9, 2024, Monahan filed formal complaint 24FC:0081, alleging the library employees’ communications were public records connected to their employment and the APL was therefore in violation of Chapter 22 based on their refusal to process Monahan’s records requests with regards to emails exchanged using the employees’ private accounts.

In response, the APL argued that “Iowa Library association emails are not government records, and are not subject to disclosure under the Open Records Law” and the emails instead “belong[ed] to the Iowa Library Association and/or [the APL employees] personally.”

The APL employees prepared sworn affidavits that stated the affiants do not intermingle their personal email accounts with their work as public library employees. The APL manager explained her intent in asking the ILA president to send future emails to her personal account was to prevent intermingling, as “these emails constitute the work of the private, non-profit Iowa Library Association, not Ames Public Library.”

The ILA and ALA are private, non-profit professional membership organizations. However, Monahan alleges because the APL manager’s membership dues to the ILA are paid for by the APL, and her activities within the association bear a clear relation to her employment as a public librarian, the emails are public records. The APL acknowledged it pays membership dues, but stated neither membership nor involvement with ILA activities are required as a condition of employment. Further, the APL manager does not serve on ILA’s Executive Board “on behalf of” the Ames Public Library.

Applicable Law

“‘Lawful custodian’ means the government body currently in physical possession of the public record. The custodian of a public record in the physical possession of persons outside a government body is the government body owning that record.” Iowa Code § 22.1(2).

“‘Public records’ includes all records, documents, tape, or other information, stored or preserved in any medium, of or belonging to this state or any county, city, township, school corporation, political subdivision, nonprofit corporation other than a fair conducting a fair event as provided in chapter 174, whose facilities or indebtedness are supported in whole or in part with property tax revenue and which is licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering pursuant to chapter 99D, or tax-supported district in this state, or any branch, department, board, bureau, commission, council, or committee of any of the foregoing.” Iowa Code § 22.1(3)(a).

“A government body shall not prevent the examination or copying of a public record by contracting with a nongovernment body to perform any of its duties or functions.” Iowa Code § 22.2(2).

Analysis

It is a well-established principle in public records law that “[i]t is the nature and purpose of the document, not the place where it is kept, which determines its status.” Linder v. Eckard, 152 N.W.2d 833, 835 (Iowa 1967). In City of Dubuque v. Dubuque Racing Association, the Iowa Supreme Court clarified that “[a] document of the government is a document that was produced by or originated from the government,” while “[d]ocuments belonging to the government would include those documents that originate from other sources but are held by public officers in their official capacity.” 420 N.W.2d 450, 452 (Iowa 1988). A lawful custodian with regards to public records, meanwhile, is “the government body currently in physical possession of the public record” or, where a public record is in the physical possession of persons outside a government body, “the government body owning that record.” Iowa Code § 22.1(2).

Dubuque Racing Association arose out of a Chapter 22 records request seeking the board meeting minutes of a private, non-profit dog racing corporation, on the basis that multiple members of the local city council sat on the non-profit’s board. 420 N.W.2d at 451. The requester argued that council members were acting in their official capacity during these meetings, based in part on a condition of the city’s lease for the racetrack, which required four positions on the Board of Directors to be reserved for city council members and the city manager. Id. at 453. The Court held the minutes were not public records, finding that “[s]imply because members of a city council serve on the board of directors of a private nonprofit corporation, the affairs of the corporation do not become the affairs of the government.” Id. The Court reasoned that permitting public inspection of the requested minutes would not further the goals of government transparency and, instead, “the realistic effect of disclosure of the minutes [would] be to provide public scrutiny over the affairs of a private nonprofit corporation.” Id. at 453–54.

The ILA is an independent nongovernment body. Iowa’s public libraries are not themselves “members” of the ILA, the APL’s employees do not formally represent the APL when conducting ILA business, and ILA activities are not a part of any APL employee’s official duties. The fact the library covers the cost of membership for its employees and may pay for incidental costs associated with ILA involvement does not transform the ILA’s organizational business into government business. The email records sought are therefore neither “of the government,” as they were not produced by the APL itself, nor are they “belonging to the government,” as they are sent and received by the APL’s employees as members of a professional organization, rather than as a part of their official duties as librarians.

Monahan provided screenshots of several email conversations between the APL manager and ILA leadership for IPIB’s review. These screenshots include work done on the ILA’s 2024 budget, a vote to endorse a “Freedom to Read Statement” to be issued by the ILA, and discussion of various efforts the ILA was involved in to challenge SF 496. These activities are also squarely within the ILA’s business as a professional organization. As such, these communications are not public records of the APL.

Conclusion

Iowa Code § 23.8 requires a complaint be within the IPIB’s jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. Following a review of the allegations on their face, it is found that this complaint does not meet those requirements.

ILA is a private nongovernment body not subject to Iowa Code chapter 22. The communications between APL librarians, as members of the ILA, are not public records even if the individual’s membership is paid for by its public employer.

IT IS SO ORDERED:  Formal complaint 24FC:0081 is dismissed as legally insufficient pursuant to Iowa Code § 23.8(2) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(b).

Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(3), the IPIB may “delegate acceptance or dismissal of a complaint to the executive director, subject to review by the board.”  The IPIB will review this Order on December 19, 2024.  Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.

By the IPIB Executive Director

_________________________

Erika Eckley, J.D.