Timothy A. Toomey v. Rowley, Town of - Public Library (SPR 20161020)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records November 29, 2016 SPR16/1020 Pamela Jacobson Library Director Town of Rowley-Public Library 141 Main Street, P.O. Box 276 Rowley, MA 01960 Dear Ms. Jacobson: I have received the petition of Timothy A. Toomey appealing the response of the Town of Rowley-Public Library (Library) to a November 2, 2016 request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Toomey requested any records that identify the "person or persons authorized for the opening and closing the Library building after hours- Sunday September 27, 2015." In your November 3, 2016 response, you provided two records. You redacted both records, citing a statute that permits withholding "That part of the records of a public library which reveals the identity and intellectual pursuits of a person using such library." G. L. c. 78, § 7; G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26) (a). Mr. Toomey appealed. The Public Records Law It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. Library fails to show applicability ofs tatute to redacted portion of records The statute cited by the Library permits withholding of records "which reveals the identity and intellectual pursuits of a person using such library." The Library failed to show how the identity of "the person or persons authorized for the opening and closing the Library building after hours" would disclose any "intellectual pursuits of a person using the" Library. One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Pamela Jacobson SPR16/1020 Page2 November 29, 2016 It is unclear from the Library's response whether the "person authorized for the opening and closing the Library building after hours" was also a "person using such library," as identified in the statute. A reasonable person might infer from the request that a person authorized to open the Library after hours may not be a participant in any of the "intellectual pursuits" protected by the statute. Order I find the Library has failed to meet its statutory and regulatory obligation to meet the specificity requirement in redacting the responsive records. Accordingly, tht; Library is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Toomey with a supplemental response to the request, within ten (1 0) days prepared in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at sec.state.ma. . illiams cc: Timothy A. Toomey