BOARD LIABILITY INSURANCE

Please note: This information does not constitute legal advice.  It is informed by feedback from the Public Library Services Branch as well as public library trustees and staff who have looked into the issue on behalf of their boards.  If you have any additional questions or concerns about Board Liability Insurance, please contact BCLTA or consider obtaining an independent legal opinion.

A Library Board that operates lawfully and works carefully to comply with the Library Act technically has enough protection from liability without additional insurance.  However, although individual board members are covered under Section 54(1) of the Library Act, they may still face challenges under the exceptions noted under 54(3).  Library Boards may be liable under section 54(4) for actions of Board directors, officers, employees or persons acting under direction of the Board.  Libraries that wish to ensure a higher level of safety for both their directors and the board as a whole should consider purchasing both Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance and General Commercial Liability Insurance.   

Library Act
Part 5 – General
Protection against lawsuits

54  (1) No action for damages may be brought against an existing or former member, officer or employee of a library board or against a person acting under the direction of the library board for

(a) anything said or done or omitted to be said or done in the performance or purported performance of a duty or the exercise of a power, or
(b) any alleged neglect or default in the performance or purported performance of a duty or exercise of a power.

(2) No action for the debts or obligations of a library board may be brought against an existing or former member, officer or employee of a library board or a person acting under the direction of the library board.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not provide a defence if

(a) the member, officer, employee or person acting under the direction of the library board has, in relation to the conduct that is the subject of the action, been guilty of dishonesty, gross negligence or malicious or wilful misconduct, or
(b) the cause of action is libel or slander.

(4) This section does not absolve a library board from vicarious liability for anything said or done or omitted to be said or done by, or for any neglect or default of, an individual referred to in subsection (1), for which the library board would have been vicariously liable had this section not been in force.

Although section 54(1) protects individual board members from being sued for making an error in the performance of their duties, exceptions to this rule are included under 54(3). It is thus possible for someone to sue an individual board member, alleging that one or more of these exceptions apply.  An individual board member may well be able to show that he or she is not liable under any of the exceptions, but there could nevertheless be legal costs associated with proving this point.  Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance (DOLI) minimizes the personal liability of individual board members – covering legal costs associated with such lawsuits.  As noted on the Volunteer Canada website:  “Although few claims against directors are substantiated and fewer of these result in large financial rewards, the cost of defending any claim can be significant. This is where DOLI tends to prove its value. Volunteer Canada strongly recommends that organizations consider carrying DOLI.”

Section 54(4) allows for a board in its entirety to be sued.  This means that the board as a whole should have liability insurance, specifically “General Commercial Liability Insurance”.  This includes fire and accident insurance, and possibly contents insurance as well. 

For their own protection and the safety of patrons, libraries should also ensure that their policies and procedures are current and that they have measures in place to protect library patrons – especially children – from potentially harmful situations (e.g., young children should not be taken to remote areas of the library for mentoring and tutoring; computer terminals in the children’s area should be visible to library staff, etc.).