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Sweet Home library board adopts donor naming rights policy, will send draft to city attorney
Summary
The City of Sweet Home Library Advisory Board approved a donor naming rights policy after discussing donation thresholds and a proposed 'morality clause.' The director will take suggested edits to the city attorney and later to city council for final approval.
The City of Sweet Home Library Advisory Board voted to adopt a donor naming rights policy at its Nov. 13, 2025 meeting after discussing how naming recognition levels and a morality clause should be worded.
Library Services Director reported she drafted the policy from examples used by other libraries and said the framework is intended to help attract donors when a new library building is planned. The director noted an $800,000 previous donation as the basis for setting a high-tier naming threshold and said other naming levels were benchmarked from 10–20 other libraries.
Board members questioned whether it was premature to finalize naming levels before a specific site is selected, but several members said establishing a framework now would help future fundraising and marketing. One board member raised concern about the policy language for a morality clause—phrased as "credibly alleged to have engaged in"—and asked whether the wording was legally sufficient. The director said the draft would be routed to the city attorney and then to city council for final approval.
A motion to approve the policy was moved, seconded and passed by voice vote. The board did not record individual roll-call votes in the transcript. The director said she would incorporate editorial suggestions and pursue legal review before presenting the policy to city council.
Next steps: director will submit the revised draft to the city attorney and return to city council for final approval before the naming policy becomes official.
