I’ve always been of the belief that any meeting held at the library is always open to any member of the public that wishes to attend??

Am I wrong ???

For the licensing, maybe we should refer them to a movie licensing company to get a one day license if they want to show anything, and it’s their responsibility to do so.

Is that something that could be added to a programming or meeting room policy?


Brandon Bowman
Library Director
Mount Clemens Public Library
150 Cass Avenue
Mount Clemens, Michigan 48043
Office - 586.469.6200 ext. 101 
Cell -  810.683.4310

On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 10:23 AM Andrea Ingmire via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
Hi all,
Wondering how you handle outside groups using your library room(s) for film screenings? We seem to have more groups who want to show a film/movie/documentary at the library. We've explained movie licensing requirements (and that they can't use our license), but many groups are confused by this...
Just wondering how other libraries handle this situation.

I'm not into policing this, but I do think it might be helpful to provide some kind of guide for groups wanting to do this. 

Questions we get include, but are not limited to: 
  1. If I'm showing this film to my membership group at our annual meeting (example: Lake Superior Art Association) - and it's not 'open to the public' do I still need permission?
  2. Does this specific film need permission?
  3. How do I get permission to show this film? 
  4. Why can't I show a film from Netflix, Disney or other streaming platform that I pay for personally... 
  5. Doesn't the library cover this for me? 

And a follow up question.

If we tell people that this is required, and they don't do it. Are we liable for the performance rights infraction? 

We show a fair number of films, and I think this gives the public the impression that they can do this too! 

Thanks,
Andrea

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andrea Ingmire
Library Director 
Peter White Public Library

906-226-4303  Office

906-228-9510  Library Main Number

906-226-1783  Library Fax

 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andrea Ingmire
Library Director 
Peter White Public Library

906-226-4303  Office

906-228-9510  Library Main Number

906-226-1783  Library Fax

 
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