On Friday afternoon, as she’d planned all along, Sylvia Keppel stood outside the main entrance of the Batavia library collecting signatures in hopes of rescinding the city’s home rule powers through an April referendum. And she felt welcome while doing it.

Library officials asked her to leave when she tried collecting the signatures earlier in the week. But Batavia library officials announced a “temporary injunction” Friday on a policy that banned the circulating of referendum petitions outside the main entrance.

“Now we hope the library officials will review the policy with trustees and reconsider the ban,” Keppel said. “I don’t think this issue would have gotten addressed so quickly if it hadn’t come to the public’s attention.”

Time is of the essence for Keppel’s petition drive. She needs 1,200 signatures by Tuesday to place a binding referendum on April ballots. She’s not sure how many more signatures she needs because media attention on the petition drive has resulted in some people collecting signatures without her knowledge.

Library Director George Scheetz instituted the temporary injunction to allow library staff and trustees to increase their knowledge about the legalities of a ban. Scheetz sent a letter to library trustees late Thursday evening explaining his decision.

The letter says he received an opinion from the city attorney that conflicts with the library’s policy and legal advice received by the library’s attorney. Scheetz then described what activities he would allow at the library “on a temporary basis.”

People can circulate petitions and distribute leaflets as long as petitioners don’t place literature on vehicles in the parking lot. Petition circulators can stand on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance as long as they remain outside the colonnade. They may not block doorways, use abusive language or otherwise harass or intimidate patrons, including preventing them from getting in or out of cars.

“This temporary injunction will allow us to gather more information on possible judicial changes in the definition of a ‘traditional public forum,’ review best practices and revise the library’s existing policies and procedures as needed,” Scheetz wrote.

The library board’s standing committee on services is set to review the policy containing the ban in February.

Scheetz, in an email interview, said the policy is not new. There’s been a ban on circulating petitions since 2004. That’s in contrast to claims Keppel’s group made about having to fill out a form and being allowed to circulate petitions outside the library within the last couple years. Scheetz said there’s never been any such form.

He also said any fears about having petition circulators arrested are unfounded.

“For the record, we at the library would not call the police in relation to a difference of opinion over a First Amendment doctrine,” Scheetz said.