For performers and presenters

Presenter and performer basics

For more information, contact the programming team at libraryevents@multcolib.org.

Payment policy

Your check will be mailed to you about a month after the completion of your program, upon receipt of your signed program agreement(s), W-9 form and independent contractor certificate with valid tax ID number. Direct deposit available upon request.

Program promotion

All programs will appear on the library's website, branch flyers and media advisory. Some programs may appear on the library’s social media sites and newsletter at the library’s discretion. 

Please feel free to promote your programs through your own social media, email lists and websites. Your event will be found at multcolib.org/events-classes.

Copyrighted content 

Use of copyrighted content in library programs without the proper licensing is a violation of copyright law. 

Performers, presenters and musicians should only use music or material for which they have permission to use.

Communicating with the library

After your program has been scheduled, you will be put in contact via email with a library location staff to support you at your event. A program agreement will also be mailed to the address you provided.

Contact library location staff (Found in your library program confirmation email)

• Confirm your arrival time for program set up
• Confirm room arrangements
• Confirm library equipment/tools 
• Directions and parking information
• Confirm library host

Contact programming staff (libraryevents@multcolib.org)

• Performer/presenter payment
• Program title/description changes
• Mailing address changes
• Program paperwork

Presenter and performer expectations

Confidentiality

Presenters and performers are expected to keep all personal information acquired while performing or conducting a program at the library confidential. A person’s library record and information needs are private and confidential.

Patron information

Registration for library programs must be done on the library’s website, unless given an exception by the library’s events team. During a program or presentation, no attempt may be made to sell, at the time of the program or in the future, a specific product or service offered by a presenter or performer. Presenters may not require personal information (names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, etc.) from the program participants, either as part of a pre-registration process or during the program itself. But participants can voluntarily give presenters their contact information. 

Conflict of interest

As part of the library program, presenters or performers cannot ask for or receive for themselves or for any member of their households, directly or indirectly, any monies or gifts from library patrons. The purpose of your library program should be educational, not promotional. Presenters can not actively promote their personal business to library patrons, staff or volunteers. 

Library patrons may ask presenters for this information and presenters may provide their business contact information at this point for discussion outside the library program. Brochures, flyers or business cards may be made available to participants at an informational table but can not be included in presenter handouts.

The library does allow authors and performers to sell their books or CDs at library programs if the material is in the library’s catalog. The library cannot provide any staff support for selling of materials. 

Cultural diversity and services

The Library values diversity and is committed to providing many programming options for the library’s diverse community. We strive to enhance library service with performers and presenters who represent diverse communities and represent a broad range of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and economic backgrounds.

Discrimination and harassment-free workplace: Multnomah County is committed to providing a workplace in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity and that is free of illegal bias, prejudice and harassment. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each person is respected and valued and where all can contribute.

Presenter and performer conduct

Presenters and performers are expected to follow library behavior policies and rules of conduct that protect the interest and safety of presenters, volunteers, staff and library patrons. The following are some examples of inappropriate conduct that could lead to the termination of contractor relationship with the library:

• Willful violation of any library rule or policy 
• Theft or inappropriate removal or possession of Multnomah County Library materials, equipment or other property or that of any volunteer, staff, or patron 
• Lack of cooperation or other disrespectful conduct 
• Inappropriate use of Library equipment or systems 
• Unauthorized disclosure of MCL proprietary or confidential information 
• Unsatisfactory performance or conduct 

Vulnerable populations

In addition to the conduct outlined above, to protect vulnerable populations from harm and library presenters from false allegations, and to uphold the library’s value of respect, library presenters must uphold the Code of Conduct outlined below during the course of their work for Multnomah County Library. This Code of Conduct applies to volunteers and paid contractors that work with programs in a library setting that has limited staff supervision.

Vulnerable Populations include all of the following: youth and adolescents, elders, persons with physical or developmental disabilities, persons experiencing homelessness or mental illness, persons for whom English is a second language, those with economic disadvantages or learning disabilities and any other person especially vulnerable to abuse. 

Library presenters overseeing activities or programs engaging Vulnerable Populations WILL:

• Show respect for the rights, safety and welfare of program participants 
• Maintain a professional and respectful demeanor when engaging with program participants 
• Report any concerns about personal safety, harassment or intimidation by program participants 
• Report any concerns about a patron or program participant to the library location staff immediately 

Library presenters overseeing activities or programs engaging Vulnerable Populations WILL NOT:

• Use any racist, sexist, discriminatory, offensive or culturally insensitive language including inappropriate slang  
• Behave in a way that frightens or demeans any program participant 
• Accompany a patron into a restroom or assist them with personal care 
• Invite program participant to their home or arrange to see them outside the set activity times in their role as a presenter 
• Transport a program participant in a vehicle 
• Give program participant gifts or personal items
• Perform errands on behalf of program participants 
• Use patrons’ personal information for personal gain 

While working with specialized populations, there are additional safeguards that library volunteers and contractors will need to adhere to for their own protection and that of program participants.  

Library presenters working with youth WILL NOT: 

• Initiate inappropriate contact with youth including, but not limited to activities such as hugging, piggyback rides, massage, tickling or wrestling; nor make any remarks related to physique, sexuality or body development 
• Use any kind of physical punishment 
• Engage in any sexual activity with a youth met through library programs
• Spend an excessive amount of time with any one child 
• Provide child care for a parent or guardian while they are using the library or during an off-site program 
• Exchange personal contact information with a program participant
• Start a personal relationship with a youth outside the scope of their library program

Library presenters working with youth WILL: 

• Exercise caution about being alone with a youth and ensure that there is more than one adult present during activities with children and young people 
• Ensure meeting room doors remain open during activities when a library staff member is not present 
• Ensure that staff or another volunteer knows where they are and what they are doing if they find themselves alone with a youth 
• Work as a team with staff and volunteers to set behavior expectations for youth