24FC:0129, 25FC:0037, and 25FC:0038 Joe Monahan/Ames Public Library, Iowa City Library and Univ. of N. Iowa - Investigative Report and Probable Cause Order

Date:
05/15/2025

Subject: 
Joe Monahan/Ames Public Library, Iowa City Library and University of Northern Iowa  - Investigative Report and Probable Cause Order

Opinion:

The Iowa Public Information Board

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

On December 24, 2024, and April 14, 2025, Joe Monahan filed formal complaints 24FC:0129, 25FC:0037, and 25FC:0038, alleging the Ames Public Library, Iowa City Library and University of Northern Iowa (UNI) violated Iowa Code chapter 22.

The IPIB accepted these Complaints. As all complaints address the same issue, they have been consolidated into one Investigative Report. 

Facts

Joe Monahan has made repeated records requests to the respondent libraries seeking Iowa Library Association (ILA) and/or American Library Association (ALA) emails and records and email correspondence between executive officer members of the ILA/ALA from libraries in which the ILA/ALA members are employed. His requests have sought email exchanges between ILA/ALA officers related primarily to legislation concerning book ban lists or other current topics. Additionally, Joe Monahan has previously filed complaints for similar records requests against the Ames Public Library (24FC:0081) which was dismissed on December 21, 2024, and is currently on appeal in the district court, and the Iowa City Library (24FC:0130) which was dismissed on February 20, 2025.

Ames Public Library

The current Ames Public Library complaint is 24FC:0129 and was accepted on January 16, 2025, to determine if any public records related to the ILA/ALA received by the Ames Public Library were not provided to Monahan. In investigating the complaint, the Ames Public Library reiterated that all records of or belonging to the Ames Public Library were provided to Monahan, but the records he seeks are communications of ILA and ALA executive officers who happen to be employed as librarians with the Ames Public Library. The Ames Library provided the exact language of Monahan’s request, which was the following: 

I am requesting all emails from the Iowa Library Association (ILA) or from any listserv they manage or newsletter type communications they produce that were sent anytime in the year 2023, Jan 1 thru Dec 31 to Ames Public Library staff that included the following terms in their title or their body: racism; anti-racism; antiracism; "social justice"; "civil rights"; "human rights"; LGBTQ.

(emphasis added).

Iowa City Public Library

The current Iowa City Public Library complaint (25FC:0037) was accepted to determine if any public records related to the ILA/ALA received by the Iowa City Public Library were not provided to Monahan. The complaint against the Iowa City Library involves another records request for communications between executive officers of the ILA/ALA regarding the same subject matter heard previously by IPIB in complaint 24FC:0130, which was dismissed by IPIB on February 20, 2025. Mr. Monahan’s request for complaint 25FC:0037 was as follows:

I am submitting a public information request for email communications between Iowa City Public Library employee Sam Helmick using her public email address (Helmick@icpl.org), and Sheila Schofer, director of the Ames Public Library, using her public email address (sschofer@amespubliclibrary.org) that were sent between January 1, 2023 and June 30th, 2023 that contain any of the following search words or terms: public library, SF496, SF 496, Public Law SF496, job duties, professional responsibilities, library books, Book ban, Register, media, newspaper, TV, Television, reporter.

(emphasis added)

Helmick was the president-elect of the ALA in 2023. Schofer was a member of the ILA and ALA. Communications between them were in reference to an ALA event occurring in the city of Ames. Records were provided to Monahan that referenced public library business, but not ALA business. He is seeking the additional records that have been determined to have been ALA records.

Monahan alleges the current complaint is for a different records’ request, but his argument regarding the response to this complaint was actually for the records request he made and filed pursuant to the previous complaint (24FC:0130) dismissed by IPIB on February 20, 2025.[1]

University of Northern Iowa

The complaint against UNI is 25FC:0038 and is also related to a records request for communications between a librarian who is an executive officer of the ILA and the employees of the other libraries who are executive officers of the ILA/ALA related to the legislation and/or book bans.

The UNI records request from Monahan was the following:

This is a public information request for email communications between UNI Associate University Librarian, Eric Jennings, who uses the email address: eric.jennings@uni.edu and possibly others, and the City of Iowa City Public Library employee Sam(antha) Helmick. Ms Helmick uses the email addresses: sam-helmick@icpl.org or samhelmick.library@gmail.com, for the period from Jan. 1, 2023 till Oct. 1 2023, that contain any of the following words or terms. “Public records”, “Private servers”, “Amanda Jones”, Helmick, “Book ban”, SF496, Plaintiffs, Intel, ACLU, or amicus

Specifically, the records request sought communications between a public employee who was also the Secretary of the ILA and a public employee who is also the President of the ILA. UNI responded to the request. The allegations are that the records of communications between the employees related to ILA should have been provided to Monahan.

Monahan alleges that the communications in each of these requests must be public records because the executive officers are public employees and may have used their public email addresses to communicate. Further, he alleges he is not seeking corporate documents related to the ILA, but instead simply the communications of public employees who are members of the ILA. He alleges these are government records because the government body may have paid ILA membership dues on behalf of the government employee. He alleges additional AI generated arguments all essentially arguing the previous IPIB orders and advisory opinions are incorrect or do not apply under these facts.

Applicable Law

 “‘Government body’ means this state, or any county, city, township, school corporation, political subdivision, tax-supported district, 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; the governing body of a drainage or levee district as provided in chapter 468, including a board as defined in section 468.3, regardless of how the district is organized; or other entity of this state, or any branch, department, board, bureau, commission, council, committee, official, or officer of any of the foregoing or any employee delegated the responsibility for implementing the requirements of this chapter.” Iowa Code § 22.1 (emphasis added).

“‘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) (emphasis added).

Analysis

As stated previously, Iowa Code § 22.1(3)(a) defines “public records” to include the “records, documents, tape, or other information . . . of or belonging to” a government body, as the term is used in Chapter 22. 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).

In Dubuque Racing Association, the Court addressed a records request seeking the minutes of a private, non-profit corporation on the basis that multiple members of the local city council sat on the non-profit’s board. Id. at 451. The records sought were in the possession of city council members and were physically maintained in the city manager’s office at the time of the request. Id. at 451–52. The requestor argued the records were public records because the non-profit was required to reserve four positions for members of the city council. The Court held the documents were not public records. The Court stated “[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. at 453. The Court held the requestor was not entitled to the records, as they belonged to the non-profit and were therefore not records or documents “of or belonging to” the city. Id. at 454; see United States v. Story County, 28 F. Supp. 3d 861, 871 (S.D. Iowa 2014) (emails were not “produced by or originated from” the sheriff’s role as sheriff and were not held in his official capacity with the county so requestor was not entitled to access them); see also Linder v. Eckard, 152 N.W.2d 833, 835 (Iowa 1967) (“It is the nature and purpose of the document, not the place where it is kept, which determines its status.”); 24AO:0007: Are private email communications sent from a government email address public records?

The emails sought in this matter are not records “of or belonging to” the public libraries listed in these complaints. Monahan’s argument that he is entitled to these communications simply because they were made by government employees who were volunteers with the ILA or ALA has been resolved by previous appellate court cases, IPIB advisory opinions, and previous complaints alleging the same general facts and circumstances.

Monahan argues that the Gannon v. Board of Regents, 692 N.W.2d 31, 38–39 (Iowa 2005), case requires the private, nonprofit organization’s records to be public records because the employees’ dues to the nonprofit organization may have been paid by the government body. This is incorrect.[2]

There is no contract between ILA/ALA and Iowa’s public libraries. The mission of the ILA is to foster “a community of innovation and advocacy, supporting and strengthening our members to promote libraries as an essential resource for all Iowans.” ILA does not operate a library. ILA does not contract to operate or govern any libraries in Iowa. The public libraries in these complaints (and across the state) and their appointed government boards make policy decisions governing their public libraries. There are no facts present that ILA or ALA perform any government functions or have a “highly interwoven and symbiotic relationship” with these public libraries. Instead, ILA/ALA are private, nonprofit organizations that support their members who may work for public libraries. Gannon is not applicable to the facts of these complaints.

IPIB Action

The Board may take the following actions upon receipt of a probable cause report: 

a. Redirect the matter for further investigation;

b. Dismiss the matter for lack of probable cause to believe a violation has occurred;

c. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, but, as an exercise of administrative discretion, dismiss the matter; or

d. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, designate a prosecutor and direct the issuance of a statement of charges to initiate a contested case proceeding.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 497-2.2(4).

Recommendation

Because these three complaints are a continuation of the legal matter previously disposed of and relates to the same subject matter and arguments as 24FC:0081, Joe Monahan/Ames Public Library, which was dismissed on December 19, 2024 and 24FC:0130 Joe Monahan/Iowa City Public Library, which was dismissed on February 20, 2025. These complaints should be dismissed under Iowa Code § 23.8(2) as they relate to a specific incident that has previously been finally disposed of on its merits by the board or a court. As soon as a case has been dismissed, Monahan has continued to file another case alleging the same legal issue. He currently has an appeal in the district court on 24FC:0081. The legal merits of these complaints have been adjudicated multiple times before IPIB. Monahan has appeared before IPIB multiple times arguing the same legal issues. The Board should dismiss these matters as the legal issues have been previously resolved and there is no probable cause to believe a violation has occurred.

By the IPIB Executive Director

_________________________

Erika Eckley, J.D.

[1] The underlying legal issue is the same- whether Monahan can ILA or ALA records through a public records request to a public library to obtain records not belonging to the government body, but of or belonging to a private, non-profit membership organization whose members happen to be public employees.

[2] See 24AO:0009: the definition of a government body and whether a nongovernment body may serve as the lawful custodian of public records for purpose for more analysis on Gannon. 

Under Iowa Admin. Code r. 497-2.2(4) the Board takes the following action: 

• a. Redirect the matter for further investigation;
• b. Dismiss the matter for lack of probable cause to believe a violation has occurred;
• c. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, but, as an exercise of administrative discretion, dismiss the matter; or
• d. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, designate a prosecutor and direct the issuance of a statement of charges to initiate a contested case proceeding.

By the Board Chair

___________________________________

Monica McHugh