Conflict of Interest and Trustee Liability Overview

If a board member and/or their family is going to benefit from a decision made by the board, the board member needs to declare a conflict of interest. This is the most obvious example.

Reality is a bit more nuanced. In small towns, board members may be related to vendors. Or a board member may serve on multiple boards and experience a conflict of interest because of their service on both boards. 

One of the best tests of whether a board member is experiencing a conflict of interest is to ask, “if this discussion appeared in the newspaper or on social media how would it reflect on the library and the board member.” If the board and/or board member does not want to see their decision or discussion in the newspaper, it’s probably a violation of the code of ethics and most likely involves a conflict of interest.