Open Records Requests

Open Records Requests and Records Retention
The Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library is subject to the Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870-61.884) and certain requirements with regard to records retention.

Retained records
The Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library will maintain and retain its records in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Unless otherwise provided by law, records may be retained or discarded according to the Records Retention Schedules as adopted by the State Libraries, Archives, and Records Commission.

Public records
All records of the Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library are public records. Not all public records are open records under the Open Records Act. “Public record” generally means all documentary materials—regardless of format or storage medium—prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by the Library. It does not include any records owned by a private person or corporation that are in the possession of the Library or one of its employees.

Requests for records
The Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library Director acts as Custodian for all of the Library’s public records. Any person may request to inspect or receive copies of the Library’s non-exempt public records. All requests to view or copy the Library’s public records pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act must be made in writing and must contain the requester’s name and signature. Requesters are asked to use the official open records request form (available at https://ag.ky.gov/Documents/2021_Standardized_Open_Records_Request_Form_V3.pdf) created by the Kentucky Attorney General and available on the Attorney General’s website or directly from the Cynthiana-Harrison County Library, but are not required to do so. All Open Records Requests must be submitted via U.S. Mail (104 N. Main St. Cynthiana, KY 41031), facsimile transmission (859-234-0059), email ([email protected]), or hand delivery. Open Records Requests should be directed to ATTN: LIBRARY RECORDS CUSTODIAN: OPEN RECORDS REQUEST. If a requester is requesting to be provided with copies of non-exempt public records, they must provide a sufficiently precise description of the documents they are seeking so as to allow the Records Custodian to readily identify them.

Response
The Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library has five (5) business days in which to respond to an Open Records Request. This time begins to run the next business day after the request is received. The response to an Open Record Request may: (1) grant the request, (2) deny the request, (3) explain that there will be a delay in responding to the request; or any combination thereof. To the extent a request is granted, the response will provide a timeframe when the requested non-exempt public documents may be inspected in person, or will inform the requester of the applicable copying charge and postage fee required to be paid before copies of the non-exempt public documents may be provided. To the extent a request is denied, the response will provide the legal cause for the denial. To the extent the full response to a request is delayed, the initial response will give a detailed explanation of the cause for any delay and an estimate of when a complete response may be expected.

Copies and costs
To the extent a request is granted, copies of the responsive non-exempt public records requested may be provided at a cost of $0.10 per page for black and white copies and $0.25 per page for color copies. Requests for specialized or non-standard copies will be provided at the cost incurred by the Library to produce them. The Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library may also recover costs associated with staff time expended in responding to a request made for a commercial purpose and/or any materials and staff time costs incurred due to manipulation of records in order to produce a desired format. Non-public or exempt information may be redacted as appropriate from copies of otherwise non-exempt public records provided. Payment, including postage/delivery costs, is expected prior to delivery of any materials.

On site examination of records
To the extent a request is granted, individuals requesting to review records will be allowed to schedule a time to conduct on-site inspection of non-exempt public records during the regular office hours of the Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm). An on-site inspection may be required by the Library if the request is not precise in nature. Public records must be inspected in the location set by the Library. During their inspection, a requester may copy non-exempt public records (at their own cost), but may not remove, alter or add to documents provided for review. The Library is responsible for protecting the security of public records in its custody, and may require that a staff member be present during any inspection or copying of its public records.

Denial of request
Certain public records are exempt from inspection under the Open Records Act. Circulation and Library use records for individual patrons are exempt from inspection, and requests to inspect or receive copies of these records will be denied, as will a request to inspect or receive copies of any other records which either are not public or which are exempt under the Act. Under certain circumstances, the Library may find that a request would create an unreasonable burden to comply with, and may deny such a request for that reason. Requests that the Library believes are intended to disrupt its essential functions will also be denied. Reasons that a request may be deemed unduly burdensome for compliance, or which may be disruptive to the Library may include time and expense involved in retrieving and duplicating the records, or in the type and nature of the request. To the extent a request is denied, the Library will provide the legal basis for the denial to the requester.

Additional Information
The Kentucky Open Records & Open Meetings Acts: A guide for the public and public agencies, published by the Office of the Attorney General, and other information regarding Open Records Requests may be found online at: https://ag.ky.gov.