Meeting Room Policy
The primary function of the Hillsdale Free Public Library’s (the “Library”) meeting room is to provide a space for Library-sponsored programming. Community groups engaged in educational, cultural, intellectual, charitable, or social activities may apply to use the Library meeting room. An application form and procedure for requesting the room is attached.
All applicants must download, print, and sign and submit the Hold Harmless Agreement to the Library prior to the meeting date. Applicants seeking a waiver of the insurance certificate requirement must obtain that from the Library Director prior to the meeting date.
Download the Meeting Room Application (.pdf) here
Download the Hold Harmless Agreement (.pdf) here
The meeting room may be used during normal Library business hours. Applicants may reserve the room for up to two (2) meeting room events in any one (1) month period.
Group size is limited to the legal occupancy of the room – Forty (40) Persons.
All meetings and gatherings must be open to the public.
No use of the Library, including use of any meeting rooms, is permitted that will interfere with effective use of the Library by the general public or the regular operation of the Library. All attendees are required to comply with the Library’s Rules of Conduct Policy.
Children under the age of 11 shall not be left unsupervised in the meeting room.
The following are not permitted in the meeting rooms and all other areas of the Library and premises: smoking or other use of tobacco or any other substance; candles or other lit flames; alcoholic beverages, cannabis/marijuana, or controlled dangerous substances, as defined in N.J.S.A. 24:21-2; gambling or games of chance; and any other activity prohibited under the Library Rules of Conduct or by law. The meeting room shall not be made available to any candidate for elected office or any partisan political organization actively supporting any candidate(s) for elected office.
Unless a waiver of the insurance certificate requirement is approved, applicants must maintain or obtain general liability insurance of at least $500,000 for a non-profit group organization or at least $300,000 for an individual, covering the event, and the insurance must name Hillsdale Free Public Library and the Borough of Hillsdale as additional insureds for purposes of the event. The applicant must provide evidence of current liability insurance to the Library Director, or their designee, at least three (3) business days prior to the date of the event. The Library will not allow any event to proceed unless the applicant provides satisfactory proof of insurance or a waiver.
No admission fee may be charged for any program or event. Exceptions include fees that are used for the purchase of supplies used during a program, such as a craft workshop, if approved by the Library in advance. Such fees shall not prevent any person from attending a program.
The Library does not advocate or endorse the viewpoints expressed by meeting room users. All users approved to use any Library meeting rooms must clearly state in all written materials, advertisements, and media announcements regarding the event that the Library is not a sponsor of the event and authorization to use the Library’s facilities does not reflect endorsement by the Library of any particular program, position, philosophy, or purpose of any person or organization.
Meetings must end, so that the room is cleaned up, returned to its original arrangement, and empty of all persons, at least fifteen (15) minutes prior to the Library’s closing time.
Applicants are responsible for room setup, clean up, and for returning all chairs and tables to their original location. No undue burden shall be placed upon Library staff for room clean up.
Failure to comply with the Library’s Rules of Conduct or Meeting Room policies will result in the forfeiture of meeting room privileges for at least six (6) months.
Consideration of Room Use by For-Profit entities
In the spirit of goodwill, business leaders in the community may wish to share their knowledge for educational purposes to establish or maintain their standing in the community. While it is recognized that additional business may occur incidentally as an indirect result from conducting such a session, the Library meeting room shall not be used for the primary purpose of soliciting or conducting business. For-profit businesses shall not be permitted to use the Library meeting room until they have applied for and received approval from the Library Board of Trustees. Approval of presentations will depend on the following criteria:
- The presenter or business shall complete an application form and submit it to the Board of Trustees for approval.
- The primary purpose of the meeting shall be educational or cultural in an area where the presenter can be deemed a subject matter expert.
- The presentation must be appropriate for the community serviced by the Library, to be determined by the Library in its sole discretion.
- No direct solicitation of business may be made by the presenter nor by any staff of the for-profit business, or any other person at the meeting
- Presentations of an artistic nature will be permitted to sell items as an ancillary function of the presentation, (i.e.; artists selling paintings, authors selling books or performers selling CD’s.)
- Presenters and/or their staff may not solicit personal information from attendees, such as name, address or phone number either directly or through mandatory
attendance sheets, sign-up sheets, business card collection, etc. Presenters may make their own business cards available and attendees are permitted to voluntarily provide information on their own.
- Advertisements for the meeting shall explicitly state that the session is for educational or cultural purposes and that business will not be directly solicited at the meeting.
- Any promotional material created to announce the event in the Library must include the following language: “This event is neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Hillsdale Free Public Library, which takes no responsibility for the content of this event or presentation.” A copy of these guidelines should be posted in a visible spot in the meeting room and a copy should be provided to all attendees at the meeting. Violations of any of the terms of this policy should be reported to the Library staff immediately.
- The Library and the Board of Trustees shall not be responsible for the content of any presentation and reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to deny any application if the content is deemed to be inappropriate for the community serviced by the Library.
Rights Reserved
The Library reserves the right of final approval of all event plans. The Library reserves the right to limit the use of its meeting room, program facilities and any activities, as it deems appropriate, within the parameters of this policy.
The Board of Trustees may deny future permission to use a meeting room to any individual or group that is disorderly, whose activities disrupt normal Library business and operations, or who violate the Rules of Conduct Policy and/or procedures of the Library, including those set out in this policy.
Download Request Form – For Profit Entities (.pdf)
Policy adopted by the Board of Trustees August 8, 2005. Policy revised by the Board of Trustees September 10, 2007. Policy revised by the Board of Trustees February 12, 2008.
Policy reviewed and revised by the Board of Trustees March 14, 2016.
Policy reviewed and revised by the Board of Trustees October 20, 2025.
The Board reserves the right to revise any of its policies at any time or to impose such additional regulations or restrictions as it deems necessary to protect the interests and property of the Hillsdale Free Public Library and its patrons and staff.