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Sponsor seeks to clarify that library cards are exempt from public disclosure
Summary
House Bill 376 would explicitly shield library cards and membership status from public-record disclosure under the Right-to-Know law, proponents said, to prevent publication of patron information after a local incident.
Representative Lisa Mazer told the Senate Judiciary Committee House Bill 376 would revise the public-records exemption for library-user records to explicitly include library cards and library membership status.
Mazer described a local incident in which a library released patrons’ library cards in response to a Right-to-Know request and those cards were later published on social media. She and supporters said library cards contain personal information—names and patron codes—and that adding an explicit exemption would avoid confusion and protect patrons’ privacy. “This clarification would prevent that from happening again,” she said, and she told the committee the House passed the bipartisan bill on consent.
Supporters included Eric Power, a library member and former school board member, who said his membership information was leaked after he spoke at a trustee meeting and that a clarification would prevent similar retaliatory disclosures. Power said he wanted to prevent future misuse of membership records by employees or others.
Opponents at the hearing, including DJ Whitley and Representative Timothy Horrigan, argued the bill was a response to a specific local trustee-election dispute in Goffstown and that the existing law already treats use records and the substance of borrowing records differently; they cited an opinion from the town attorney indicating names of library-card holders are not necessarily an invasion of privacy. Whitley told the committee he had asked for this bill to be ITL previously and said the proposals amount to “protecting the privacy of non-existent records.”
Senators and witnesses discussed community context: whether library cards amount to “government permits,” whether voters have legitimate reasons to query candidates for library trustee about library membership, and whether the bill would inadvertently shield relevant public information. Testimony closed with officials indicating different views and no committee action reported in the transcript.
