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Terms of Use

These Terms of Use constitute a legal agreement between you and The Harold Grinspoon Foundation (sometimes referred to as “HGF,” “we” or “us”) for HGF’s provision of website features, services, books, programs, information, forums, and other related services (collectively, the “Service”) at or through www.pjlibrary.org (the “Site”), including without limitation its PJ Library book engagement program (the “PJ Library Program”). As used herein, “you” refers to a user of the Service. If you use the Service, you accept and agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Use. Please read them carefully. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS SITE.

  1. Enrollment for the PJ Library Program

The PJ Library Program sends free, high-quality Jewish children’s literature to children under 9 years old who live in the United States and Canada. More information about the parameters and eligibility for the PJ Library Program can be found at: https://pjlibrary.org/about-pj-library/faqs.

The link to enrollment for the PJ Library Program can be found at: https://pjlibrary.org/enroll-in-a-community. Please be aware that the following terms and conditions apply to your enrollment in the PJ Library Program. Your submission of any form to participate in the PJ Library Program constitutes your acceptance of the terms and conditions below:

  1. Age of Child
  • The child must be younger than 9 years-old at the time of enrollment in the PJ Library Program. This means that a child is eligible for the PJ Library Program from birth until their 9th birthday. HGF also offers the PJ Our Way Program for children who are between the 9 years through 12 years old. The link to enrollment for the PJ Our Way Program can be found at https://pjourway.org/enroll.
  1. Address
  • The mailing address for the child must be within the United States of America or Canada.
  1. Application
  • Families with multiple eligible children may, subject to these terms and conditions, enroll each eligible child in the PJ Library Program.
  • We have sole and absolute discretion in deciding whether to accept any application for enrollment in the PJ Library Program. If an application is rejected, the applicant will be notified by e-mail. The applicant is welcome to contact us at: info@pjlibrary.org to further discuss our decision.
  1. Subscriptions
  • Subscriptions last for one year, beginning from the date of enrollment, and will be renewed at our discretion.
  • Subscriptions include 12 mailings, arriving monthly to the address provided.
  • We are not responsible for the content of the books that we send to you. We welcome your suggestions and comments on our selection.
  1. Use of Books
  • The books can only be used for personal purposes.
  • You agree to abide by any copyright and/or data laws relating to your use of the materials provided.
  1. Cost of Subscription
  • The PJ Library Program is free of charge for subscribers.
  1. Your Account

In order to participate in some aspects of the Service, including participation in our PJ Library Program, you must create an account through the Site (the “Account”). You must be at least 18 years of age to create an Account. With regard to your registration for an Account, you acknowledge and agree that you will: (A) provide true, accurate, current, and complete information as requested by the registration form; and (B) maintain and update this registration information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account, and you hereby accept sole responsibility for all activities that occur under your Account. You acknowledge and agree that you shall have no ownership or other property interest in your Account, and you further acknowledge and agree that all rights in and to the Account are owned by and inure to the benefit of HGF.

HGF respects your privacy, and for additional information regarding how we handle the information you transmit to us through the Site, including without limitation your registration information, please visit our PJ Library Privacy Policy. By accessing or using the Service, you agree to accept and be bound by these Terms of Use and the PJ Library Privacy Policy.

  1. Grant of License and Restrictions

The Service may be used by you only for your personal, non-commercial use as provided in these Terms of Use. Nothing contained in these Terms of Use shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right to use any trademark, patent, registered design, design right, copyright or other intellectual property right of HGF.

You are granted a personal, limited, non-transferable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-sub-licensable, revocable license to access the Site and use, for non-commercial purposes only, the Service, provided that you do not, and do not allow any third party to:

  1. Modify, copy, reproduce, broadcast, republish, sell, resell, exploit, reverse engineer (except to the extent permitted by law), disassemble, create derivative works or distribute in any way any portion of the Site or any materials provided in the Service, including, but not limited to design and materials including all text, audio and audio-visual materials, artwork, graphics, code and/or software and all other copyrightable elements (the “Content”).
  1. Disrupt or assist in the disruption of any Service server or any other user’s Service experience.
  1. Use any meta tags or any other “hidden text” utilizing HGF’s name or Marks (as defined below).
  1. Intimidate or harass other users of the Service.
  1. Collect any information about other users of the Service; create or transmit unwanted electronic communications to other users of the Service; or otherwise interfere with such users’ enjoyment of the Service.
  1. Use the Service to send junk mail, spam, chain letters, or pyramid schemes.
  1. Upload, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of the Service or any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.

The grant of this limited license is conditioned upon your agreement to and compliance with all of these Terms of Use. HGF may suspend or deactivate your Account at any time for any or no reason, with or without notice to you. By way of example only, most Account suspensions or deactivations are the result of an end user’s failure to comply with any term(s) or condition(s) of these Terms of Use. Unauthorized or prohibited use of the Site or the Content may subject you to civil liability and criminal prosecution.

HGF reserves the right to add, modify, or delete any information on the Site and in the Service at any time. HGF makes no representation or warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained on the Site and/or Service, nor does it represent or warrant that the Site and/or Service will be available at all times. The information contained on the Site and in the Service may be incomplete, may contain errors, or may become out of date at any time. HGF makes no commitment and expressly disclaims any duty to update any of the content on the Site or in the Service.

  1. Communication Facilities; Rules of Conduct

The Service may include communication functions and facilities through which you can post book reviews/comments and other communications (collectively, “Communication Facilities”). You agree only to use the Communication Facilities for communications in connection with the Service. Your use of the Service, including the Communication Facilities, is governed by the Terms of Use and the Rules of Conduct (as defined below), which you must follow. By way of example only, and not limited to the following, you agree you will not engage in the following activities on or through the Site, Services or Communication Facilities:

  1. Transmit messages which are, in HGF’s sole discretion, offensive, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful, threatening, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable.
  1. Intimidate, bully, threaten or harass other users or moderators of the Service.
  1. Impersonate any real person, including without limitation an agent of HGF, or otherwise communicate in the Communication Facilities in any way designed to make others believe that your message constitutes a server message or was otherwise posted by a representative of HGF.
  1. Provide personally-identifiable information of any kind, including first and last names; your state, city, address, phone number, or e-mail; or personal websites.
  1. Provide book reviews with “spoilers” that reveal key aspects of the book’s plot.
  1. Provide book reviews that are not relevant to the book being reviewed (e.g., “I’m going to a cool concert tonight”).
  1. Engage in or promote criminal or illegal activities or actions that aid such activities.
  1. Engage in “trolling.”
  1. Engage in spamming, double posting, cross-posting, and resurrecting old posts.
  1. Hack any Communication Facilities or exploit any bugs in same.

(collectively, “Rules of Conduct”).

HGF reserves the right to discipline any user of the Site in any manner it sees fit for a violation of the Rules of Conduct. The above Rules of Conduct are not meant to be exhaustive, and HGF reserves the right to modify the Rules of Conduct at any time. Additional rules in connection with the Communication Facilities may be posted within such facilities. HGF has no obligation to monitor or moderate the Communication Facilities, but reserves the right to review materials posted to the Communication Facilities and to remove any materials at any time, without notice, and for any reason and in its sole discretion. In the event that you feel threatened or believe that someone else is in danger, you should contact your local law enforcement agency immediately. If you see material on the Site or in the Communications Facilities that you believe violates these Terms of Use or the Rules of Conduct, please report it to us. Please note, however, that reporting the material will not necessarily mean that it will be removed from the Site or Communications Facilities.

Statements made by users in the Communication Facilities reflect only the view of their authors, and HGF specifically disclaims any liability with regard to the Communication Facilities and any actions resulting from your participation in the Communication Facilities. HGF is not responsible for information that you choose to communicate to other users via the Communication Facilities, or for the actions of other users. Any information you share, including without limitation any discussions with other users, in any Communication Facilities or other online community area is by design open to the public and is not private. We recommend that you do not post, display, or transmit any confidential or sensitive information.

  1. Submissions

You may be provided with the opportunity to create and submit comments, feedback, suggestions, reviews, and other submissions and information through the Service or the Site (collectively, “Submissions”). Submissions must not: (A) infringe any copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, or any other proprietary right of any person or entity; (B) contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, corrupted files, or any other similar software or program; (C) violate any law or regulation; or (D) violate these Terms of Use or the Rules of Conduct.

All right, title, and interest, including copyright, in and to your Submissions shall be owned by you. By posting Submissions to the Service, you hereby grant to HGF a sub-licensable, transferable, free, unlimited, worldwide, non-exclusive, and perpetual license to use, modify, copy, host, store, distribute, publicly perform and publicly display, adapt, sell, create derivative versions of, and otherwise exploit the Submissions (in whole or in part) in any and all forms and media now known or hereafter devised, in any manner HGF desires, including without limitation promotional and marketing purposes. You also hereby grant each user of the Service a non-exclusive license to access your Submissions through the Service, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Service and under these Terms of Use.

HGF has no obligation to monitor or moderate the Submissions, but reserves the right to review Submissions, and to remove any materials at any time, without notice, and for any reason and in its sole discretion. Submissions reflect only the view of its author(s) and HGF specifically disclaims any liability with regard to Submissions. You acknowledge that, by providing you with the ability to view and distribute Submissions on the Service, HGF is merely acting as a passive conduit for such distribution and is not undertaking any obligation or liability relating to any contents or activities on the Service. HGF assumes no responsibility for the deletion of or failure to store any Submissions and recommends that you do not post, display, or transmit any confidential or sensitive information.

  1. Book and Manuscript Submissions

Authors of Jewish-themed books or manuscripts for children through age 8 may submit such books or manuscripts to us for consideration for possible inclusion in the PJ Library Program. All decisions with respect to any submitted books and manuscripts shall be made in HGF’s sole and absolute discretion. Additional guidelines and conditions regarding book and manuscript submissions can be found at: https://pjlibrary.org/books-and-music/how-we-choose-books/write-and-create-with-pj-library.

  1. Intellectual Property
  1. All right, title and interest, including copyright, in the Service, and the Content are owned by HGF, or its licensors or other respective owners. All rights reserved.
  1. PJ LIBRARY, PJ OUR WAY and certain related names and logos are registered and/or unregistered trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of HGF. These and all other trademarks, service marks, and trade names (the “Marks”) are proprietary rights owned by HGF or other respective owners that have granted HGF the right and license to use such Marks.
  1. If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any content or other material on the Service infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing our Copyright Agent, at the address below, with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C. §512(c) for further detail):
    1. A physical or electronic signature of the owner of the right that is allegedly infringed or a person authorized to act on their behalf;
    2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of the copyrighted works;
    3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on the Service, e.g., a web address(es) (URL(s)) that will directly lead to the material;
    4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the owner or agent, such as an address, telephone number, and email address;
    5. A statement that the owner or agent has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
    6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed 

Copyright Agent:


The Harold Grinspoon Foundation
67 Hunt Street, Suite 100
Agawam, MA 01001
Attention: Alex Zablotsky
Telephone: 413-276-0744
Fax: 413-276-0805
E-mail: alex@hgf.org

Upon our receipt of a proper notice of claimed infringement under the DMCA, we will respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material claimed to be infringing and will follow the procedures specified in the DMCA to resolve the claim between the notifying party and the alleged infringer who provided the content in issue.

  1. Consent to Monitor

When you are participating in the Service, HGF may obtain certain identification information about your computer and its operating system, including without limitation your hard drives, central processing unit, Internet Protocol address(es) and operating system(s), for purposes of improving the Service, and to monitor and enforce the provisions of these Terms of Use. By using the Service and the Site, you hereby consent to such activities.

  1. Disclaimer

THE SITE AND SERVICE ARE PROVIDED BY HGF ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, HGF DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS, CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, HGF MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, CONDITION, OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED: (A) AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE, OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS OR PRODUCTS INCLUDED THEREON; (B) THAT THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE WILL BE CONTINUOUS, UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; (C) AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR CURRENCY OF ANY INFORMATION, CONTENT, SERVICE, OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED THROUGH THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE; OR (D) THAT THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE, MATERIALS DOWNLOADED FROM THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE, HGF SERVERS, OR E-MAILS SENT FROM OR ON BEHALF OF HGF, ARE FREE OF VIRUSES, SCRIPTS, TROJAN HORSES, WORMS OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATION ON APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

  1. Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL HGF BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL, DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, EVEN IF HGF HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION UNDER CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR PERFORMANCE OF THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND CONTENTS AVAILABLE FROM THE SITE AND/OR SERVICE. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

  1. Indemnification

Your use of the Site and the Service constitutes your agreement to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless HGF, and its owners, trustees, employees, contractors, officers, directors, licensees (excluding you), sublicensees, successors and assigns (collectively, the “HGF Parties”) from and against any actions, claims, demands, liability and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of: (A) your breach of any of these Terms of Use; (B) your use or misuse of the Service, including the Communication Facilities; (C) Submissions provided by you; (D) your participation in any Event (as defined below); or (E) the use or misuse of the Service by a third party using your Account.

  1. Program Professional Resource Center

The Program Professional Resource Center is available only to our local community program professionals and HGF staff, and not the general public. If you are a confirmed local community program professional, you may be provided with a username and password to access and utilize the Program Professional Resource Center, as well as the PJ Library program dashboard to manage PJ Library subscriptions in your community. It is your responsibility to maintain the secrecy of your username and password at all times. Any use of the Program Professional Resource Center is subject to these Terms of Use.

  1. Events

The Site and/or Service may contain information or content relating to events, venues, communities, and other activities (collectively, “Events”). You acknowledge and agree that HGF makes no representation or warranty of whatsoever kind with respect to such Events or any information or materials relating to such Events. Under no circumstances shall the HGF Parties be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damages caused or alleged to have been caused by your use of, participation in or reliance on said Events or materials or information relating to such Events. You hereby waive and release the HGF Parties from any and all claims relating to such Events and any information or materials relating to such Events.

  1. No Endorsement

HGF operates the Service as an engagement program in which program participants receive books and are able to provide feedback. HGF partners with other organizations to provide the Service. While HGF tries to provide quality books and services, it cannot make any claims, promises or guarantees about the quality or contents of the books. HGF does not endorse any third party organization or program or any product, service, opinion, or other information that may be referenced on or through the Service.

  1. External Sites

The Site and/or Service may contain links to other sites on the Internet, or you may be able to access the Site and/or Service from other sites on the Internet, that are owned and operated by third party vendors and other third parties (the “External Sites”). You acknowledge that HGF does not review or evaluate all of the External Sites and is not responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, decency, or appropriateness of the content on these External Sites, nor is it responsible for the advertising, products, or other materials that appear on or are offered by such websites. You should carefully review the respective terms of use and privacy policies of each of these External Sites. Under no circumstances shall HGF be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damages caused or alleged to have been caused by your use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services available on such External Sites.

  1. Electronic Communications

When you visit the Site, use the Service, or send e-mails to us, you are communicating with us electronically. We may communicate with you by e-mail or by posting notices on the Site or on the Communication Facilities. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

  1. Equitable Remedies

You agree that HGF would be irreparably damaged if the terms of these Terms of Use were not specifically enforced, and therefore you agree that HGF shall be entitled, without bond, other security, or proof of damages, to appropriate equitable remedies with respect to breaches of these Terms of Use, in addition to such other remedies HGF may otherwise have available to it under applicable laws. This section shall survive any termination of your Account(s), the Service, or these Terms of Use.

  1. Severance

If any of these Terms of Use are determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable by reason of the laws of any state or country in which these Terms of Use are intended to be effective, then to the extent and within the jurisdiction in which that term is illegal, invalid or unenforceable, it shall be severed and deleted from these Terms of Use and the remaining Terms of Use shall survive, remain in full force and effect, and continue to be binding and enforceable.

  1. Waiver; Binding Agreement

HGF’s failure to enforce any term of these Terms of Use at any time shall in no way be construed to be a present or future waiver of such term. These Terms of Use constitute a binding legal agreement between you and HGF, and shall be binding upon your successors, administrators, executors, heirs and assigns.

  1. Governing Law/Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

You agree to use your best efforts to resolve any controversy, claim, action or other dispute arising out of or related to the Service or the Site, including any cause of action arising out of or related to these Terms of Use (each a “Dispute” and collectively, the “Disputes”) with us directly, in your individual capacity. If a Dispute arises, you agree to first try in good faith to resolve the Dispute with us by writing to us at: info@pjlibrary.org. You agree that this dispute resolution procedure is a condition precedent which must be satisfied prior to any litigation.

Should we not be able to resolve the Dispute directly with you, for any and all Disputes, you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America located in Hampshire County and Hampden County, Massachusetts or, for Canadian residents only, you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the provincial and federal courts located in Toronto, Ontario, for any Disputes.

Disputes may not be joined or consolidated unless agreed to in writing by all parties. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you hereby waive any right to participate in any type of lawsuit brought and/or maintained as a class action or similar in nature to a class action. In the event that this class action waiver is deemed unenforceable, then any putative class action may only proceed in a court of competent jurisdiction without a jury.

  1. Modification of Terms of Use

HGF shall have the right, at its sole discretion, to modify, add or remove any terms or conditions of these Terms of Use without notice or liability to you. Any changes to these Terms of Use shall be effective immediately following the posting of any such changes on the Site. Please review these Terms of Use regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes made by HGF. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted means you agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Use as updated and amended.

  1. Contacting Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Use, the information practices of HGF, or your dealings with HGF, please contact us at: info@pjlibrary.org

Date Last Modified: October 1, 2018