From time to time legal firms will contact MCL to ask for a verification of our resources (that we own the material, that the copies made are complete and correct, etc), including a signature on a legal document.

These requests will be considered on a case by case basis. Signing an affidavit or declaration has potential serious legal consequences, and should not be taken lightly. Requests for legal verification should always be handled by the PIC, who should consult with at least one other person, preferably our legal counsel or an Executive Management Team (EMT) member, before granting the verification.

The following will be considered in each case by the PIC or manager handling the request:

1. Make sure you are in a position to attest to the declaration accurately and truthfully. You may be committing perjury if you sign the document without being sure to the best of your ability that the statement is correct.
2. Consider the time involved. For instance, verifying the accuracy of copies from a 15 page article against the original source, initialling each page, and signing a document may take less than 10 minutes and may be doable. A request to verify 500 copies from multiple sources in the same manner may not be acceptable due to the time that would be involved.
3. The request may come with a quick deadline. You may need to inform the requesting firm that you need time to consult with our attorney before verifying their request.
4. If you determine you are in a position to provide the verification, please note you may be called to testify in court. This may entail travel to another state.
5. If a request can not be accommodated, an EMT member or legal counsel will assist you with language for your response, if necessary.

Example of a Statement of Declaration:

I, YOUR NAME HERE, declare as follows:

1. I am employed as YOUR POSITION HERE for the Multnomah County Public Library. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth herein, except as to those stated on information and belief and, as to those, I am informed and believe them to be true.  If called as a witness, I could and would competently testify to the matters stated herein.  
2. This Declaration is to certify that the attached document, the First Issue, 1966 of Space Magazine, is a true and complete copy of the original held by the Multnomah County Public Library. I have initialed each page of the copy as such.  
3. The stamp on the front cover of the document indicates that this issue of the magazine was received by the Multnomah County Public Library on or about May 5, 1966.