Home: Ask The Lawyer: About the Service

The Attorney

The service is staffed by Buffalo attorney Stephanie ("Cole") Adams, who first developed a deep connection to libraries working as a page, then clerk, at her hometown library in New Hartford, NY. Ms. Adams went on to work at the libraries of her Alma Maters, Hampshire College, and SUNY Buffalo School of Law. She served for over 10 years as the in-house counsel at Niagara University, in Niagara Falls, NY. An attorney admitted to practice in both the state and federal courts of New York, Ms. Adams has extensive experience with the issues confronting information professionals. Ms. Adams works closely with WNYLRC and other library Councils to craft useful replies to member library questions.

In partnership with the Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC), the Capital District Library Council (CDLC) has retained the services of an attorney to offer CDLC and its members timely input on intellectual property, digital rights management, vendor contracts, first amendment, civil rights, employment law, and other legal issues that can impact library operations.

The Details

To preserve confidentiality, questions sent to CDLC's "Ask the Lawyer" service are sent directly to CDLC, WNYLRC, and our counsel for review and answers. Answers might come in the form of:

public commentary shared with the member who inquired and become part of a Legal RAQ - "Recently Asked Questions" on the WNYLRC website;
a training session (in person or webinar);
a confidential memo shared only with the inquiring library and the CDLC and WNYLRC liaison.

Please keep in mind: the "Ask the Lawyer" service is not legal representation of your organization. By sending this form, you are consenting to jointly seek advice with the Council. Always immediately alert officers at your institution or of your library system if a lawsuit is threatened, or if a matter is so specific or critical that your own institution's attorney should be involved. And yes--you can always "Ask the Lawyer" if you don't know if a particular issue hits that threshold!

Please complete the form and provide as much information as possible on the issue; but remember, you are jointly seeking the service with CDLC. If you have documentation that would assist the attorney in answering your inquiry, you may upload files at the bottom of the form. Please note that the form cannot be saved and must be completed in one sitting.

If you would like to make use of this service, please fill out this form.
Ask the Lawyer maintains Recently Asked Questions (RAQs), which are available here.