FORBES LIBRARY
Policy Regarding
Ethics and Conflicts of Interest

I. Preface

Forbes Library was created under the will of Charles W. Forbes, who placed the institution’s care and management in the hands of Trustees organized and incorporated as a public charitable trust. The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum is operated by a Standing Committee of the Forbes Trustees. For the purposes of this Policy, references to the Library are understood to include the Museum.

II. Purpose

As stewards of a public charitable trust, the Forbes Trustees are bound by heightened fiduciary obligations. In carrying out their role, they must abide by ethical standards that both promote the public good and further the Library’s mission. The Trustees are responsible for setting a tone of the highest ethical accountability that will encourage a culture of legal compliance and ethical integrity throughout the institution.

Additionally, all Library personnel and volunteers are expected to act to preserve the Library and ensure it continues to flourish in the community. In all dealings relating to the Library, they are expected to use good judgment, to demonstrate and promote the highest standards of ethical conduct, and to observe both the letter and the spirit of Library policies. In particular, personnel and volunteers may not use the Library, or their role at the Library, for personal gain or to benefit another at the expense of the Library, its mission, its reputation, or the public it serves.

Trustees, personnel and volunteers should be aware that conflicts of interest, both real and apparent, may arise in the normal course of conducting Library business. Even the appearance of a conflict can be problematic and erode the public’s trust in the institution. Therefore, all actual and potential conflicts of interest must be timely disclosed and addressed in accordance with this policy.

III. Governance of the Library

Trustees’ Duties and Responsibilities. As a public charitable trust, Forbes Trustees are bound by a heightened standard of care, including the fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the Library.

  • The duty of care means Trustees must act with the same care as an ordinarily prudent person in the same position (or the same position at a similar public charitable institution) would act.
  • The duty of loyalty means Trustees must exercise their authority in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interest of the institution. In conducting Library affairs, they must put the Library’s interests and well-being over their own personal interests or the interests of any other entity or person.

Trustees are obligated to fulfill their role with prudence, accountability, and in the public’s interest.

Conflicts of Interest. A conflict of interest arises when a Trustee has a direct or indirect financial interest or a personal interest in any transaction in which the Library is participating.

Trustees shall exercise good faith in all transactions, and they shall not use Library assets or resources, their positions as Trustees, or knowledge gained as a result of their positions for their personal benefit or for the private benefit of any other person or organization. The interests of the Library must be the first priority in all decisions and actions Trustees undertake in connection with the Library.

In any Library-related transaction in which a Trustee has a material personal interest, the Trustee must disclose fully the existence and nature of the interest before the Trustees take any action on that transaction. Beyond full disclosure of a material personal interest, no Trustee may participate in any discussion or decision relating to a transaction that involves the Trustee’s personal interest. An interested Trustee may be counted to determine the presence of a quorum at any meeting where the interested transaction is discussed, but may not participate in any voting on that topic.

In evaluating any proposed transaction concerning the Library where any Trustee has a potential conflict of interest, the primary consideration for all Trustees shall be the fairness of the transaction to the Library.

Trustees shall not under any circumstances accept, solicit, or agree to accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, compensation or other thing of value that a reasonable person could infer was offered for the purpose of influencing them in the discharge of their duties to the Library, in their Library-related decision-making or otherwise in exchange for any benefit to be received from the Library.

IV. Library Personnel

General Responsibilities. Library personnel are an important public face of the institution. As such, it is essential that they act honestly, ethically and prudently; perform their duties properly, diligently and with courtesy; preserve the confidentiality of Library patrons; preserve Library property and assets; and comply with all Library and personnel policies.

Conflicts of Interest. In all transactions, Library personnel must act in good faith, and they are not to use Library assets or resources, their positions at the Library, or knowledge gained as a result of their positions for their personal benefit or for the private benefit of any other person or organization.

Library personnel are not permitted under any circumstances to accept or solicit, directly or indirectly, any gift, compensation or other thing of value that a reasonable person could infer was offered for the purpose of influencing them in the discharge of their duties to the Library, in their Library-related decision-making or otherwise in exchange for any benefit to be received from the Library.

In any transaction where Library personnel become aware of an actual or potential conflict of interest, they must immediately disclose the existence and nature of the conflict to the Library Director (or, if the person making the disclosure is the Library Director, to the Trustees).

V. Volunteers

General Responsibilities. Library volunteers are an essential and valued part of Library operations. All volunteers are expected to act honestly, ethically and prudently; perform their duties properly, diligently and with courtesy; preserve the confidentiality of Library patrons; preserve Library property and assets; and comply with all Library and personnel policies to the extent such policies apply to them.

Conflicts of Interest. In all transactions, Library volunteers must act in good faith, and they are not to use Library assets or resources, their positions at the Library, or knowledge gained as a result of their positions for their personal benefit or for the private benefit of any other person or organization.

In any transaction where Library volunteers become aware of an actual or potential conflict of interest, they must immediately disclose the existence and nature of the conflict to the Library Director.

Approved by the Board of Trustees 11/19/2019