Government of the Library
The Library shall be governed by a Board of seven elected Trustees, with staggered six year terms, acting in accordance with the library laws of the State of Illinois applying to Public Library Districts.
Trustees shall be elected by the registered voters residing within the district in accordance with the library laws of the State of Illinois.
The Board of Trustees shall carry the legal and financial responsibility for the library, formulating policies and arranging for financial support.
The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Library Administrator who, as the technical expert, will have full responsibility for programs, services, book selection and personnel management.
The Library Administrator and the bookkeeper have the authority to make bank deposits and transfers from one account to another account with prior Board approval.
The Library Administrator shall be responsible for recommending policies and for bringing to the attention of the Board the desirability of formulating policies.
The Library Administrator shall not independently change or fail to follow established policy. Library regulations shall be made for the good of the whole district; they shall not be changed except after due consideration of the Board of Trustees; they shall not be changed merely for the benefit of individuals or of a minority group.
The Board of Trustees shall not engage in direct management.
The Board of Trustees subscribes and adheres to the "American Library Association Ethics Statement for Public Library Trustees."
ARTICLE I - NAME
This institution shall be known as "The Illinois Prairie District Public Library".
ARTICLE II - OFFICERS
The officers of the Board shall consist of:
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Assistant Secretary
Assistant Treasurer
Building Superintendent
Ethics Officer
FOIA Officer, typically the Library Administrator 10. OMA Designee(s)
SECTION 1 - DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT
The President shall:
Preside at all meetings of the Board.
Appoint all standing committees.
Have general supervision of all matters pertaining to the Library, except as otherwise provided by law or by these by-laws, or by action of the Board.
Be an ex-officio, voting member of all committees.
SECTION 2 - DUTIES OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT
The Vice-President shall:
In the absence of the President, preside over all regular and special meetings.
Generally assist the President in the performance of his or her duties.
SECTION 3 - DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY
The Secretary shall:
Give due notice of all meetings.
Keep a faithful record of the proceedings of the Board, with staff assistance.
Issue such vouchers as may be ordered by the Board.
Handle all correspondence except where the Board instructs otherwise.
SECTION 4 - DUTIES OF THE TREASURER
The Treasurer shall, with assistance of staff:
Have charge of special Library funds and income outside of the appropriation, and shall report at each meeting on the state of these funds.
Keep a record of receipts and disbursements of all Library funds.
ARTICLE III - COMMITTEES
There shall be any number of ad hoc committees of the Board to be used as needed. Committees may include, for example, the following:
A committee on finance, consisting of three members.
A committee on building and grounds which shall consist of at least three members of the Board.
SECTION 1 - DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
The committee on finance shall:
Have general supervision of all monies belonging to the Library.
Audit the books, accounts, vouchers and records of the Treasurer annually and make a report of same to the Board.
Prepare and present to the Board at the annual meeting in each year a statement for the annual budget, and means for increasing the income of the Library.
SECTION 2 - DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
The committee on buildings and grounds shall have charge of investigating and recommending action on matters relating to the repair, alteration, furnishings, heating, lighting and sanitation of the buildings and care of the grounds.
ARTICLE IV - GIFTS
All gifts to the library, of either monies or securities, if accepted by the library will be consistent with any expressed restrictions or limits set by the donor, shall be deposited in such bank as may be designated by the Board and shall be subject to vouchers signed by officers of the Board in the same as vouchers are drawn against the appropriated funds of the Board in the regular course of business.
All gifts of property, other than monies or securities, shall be held or disposed of as may be directed by the Board.
ARTICLE V - AMENDMENTS
These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of the members of the Board at any regular meeting, provided notice of the proposed amendment and of the language thereof, has been given at the last preceding regular meeting.
ARTICLE VI - BONDING OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
The officers and employees of the Library Board shall be required to furnish such bond as the Board may deem advisable for proper protection. The Treasurer shall give bond for the amount of 50% of the total annual library taxes collected by the District. The Library District shall pay the premium on such required bonds.
ARTICLE VII - SIGNERS OF REGULAR CHECKS
Any member of the Board of Trustees may sign regular checks. Two signatures are required for each check.
ARTICLE VIII - MEETINGS
REGULAR MEETINGS.
The regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees of the Illinois Prairie District Public Library shall be on the first Tuesday of each month. The meeting shall be at the Library’s main office or headquarters at 4 o’clock, unless otherwise stated in the meeting notices. The meetings shall be open to the public and noticed in advance. At the beginning of each fiscal year the Board shall, by ordinance, specify regular meeting dates and times. The Secretary of the Board, with assistance from staff, shall then (1) provide for the local newspaper the schedule of regular meetings of the board for the ensuing fiscal year, and (2) post the schedule of meetings in the library, at all branch locations and on the library’s website. All notices shall have the dates, times and places of such meetings.
SPECIAL MEETINGS.
Special meetings shall be held at any time when called by the President or Secretary or by any three trustees of the board, provided that notice with the agenda of the special meeting is given at least 48 hours in advance, except in the case of a bona fide emergency, to Board members and to any news medium which has filed an annual request for notice under the Open Meetings Act; no business except that stated in the notice and agenda shall be transacted. Notice and agenda shall be posted 48 hours in advance on the front door of the library, at all branch locations and on the library’s website, except in the case of a bona fide emergency.
QUORUM.
A quorum at any meeting shall consist of 4 Board members.
AGENDA.
The agenda and/or information packet for the meetings will be distributed to the Board by the Library Administrator at least one week prior to meetings. Any Board member wishing to discuss an item will contact the Library Administrator in sufficient time, at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, to have the item placed on the agenda. Any Board member who is unable to attend a meeting will contact the library to indicate that he or she will be absent. Due to the fact that a quorum is required for each meeting, this contact should be made, via phone or e-mail, as far in advance as possible.
MEETINGS AND TELEPHONE CONFERENCING.
The fullest participation and attendance in all Board meetings should be achieved whenever possible; and the use of telephone conferencing for meeting attendance and voting requirements, at least in some governmental meetings, may be permissible so long as the conduct of the meeting is in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. The Board in all of its regular and special meetings and committee meetings complies and intends to comply with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act. When needed, the capabilities of telephone conferencing for its meetings, as more specifically set out in this policy, may enhance and further the public’s business as conducted by the Board of Trustees as follows:
Section l. All pertinent provisions of the Open Meetings Act must be complied with, including specifically the proper notice of any regular or special meeting, the proper record-keeping or minutes of each meeting, the appropriate agenda preparation for each meeting which, in addition, shall be posted along with the notice of the meeting; and any use of closed sessions shall be in compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Section 2. The location of the meeting included on the notice shall be equipped with a suitable speaker-phone system in order that the public audience, the Board members in attendance and any staff or guests will be able to hear any input, vote or discussion of the teleconference and that any other location where the Board conducts regular business shall have similar speaker-phone capabilities for use by Board members, staff or public audience to attend at that location, if requested at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Section 3. That sufficient security and identification procedures be employed, either at the outset of any meeting or at any time during the meeting as appropriate, to ensure that any and all Board members attending for quorum or voting purposes are in fact an authorized Board member with the right to speak and vote.
Section 4. As soon as it becomes apparent to the Board that a meeting will require telephone conferencing, all subsequent notices of the meeting shall indicate that one or more Board members will or may be attending by telephone connection, and the location or locations where speaker-phones will be available shall be noted thereon. In the event that the notice of the meeting has already been disseminated and posted, a follow-up notice indicating the above shall be placed as soon as possible. In the event any news media have filed the annual request for notice of meetings, they shall receive an updated notice in the same manner as given to all members of the Board.
Section 5. No Board members attending meetings by telephone conference can be counted for quorum purposes and shall only be entitled to vote if they are not physically present due to personal illness or
disability; are absent due to employment purposes or library business, or are unable to attend because of family or other emergencies.
Section 6. This policy shall not be construed to mean that teleconferencing shall be regularly used or used at every meeting of the Board but shall be used only as necessary to allow the participation of Board members who are unable to attend in person due to circumstances beyond their control.
Section 7. The meeting minutes shall indicate those Board members who attend by telephone connection, and in the event the entire meeting is not so attended, shall indicate those portions of the meeting which were attended by telephone conference.
PUBLIC COMMENT GUIDELINES
The agendas of all regular and special meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Prairie District Public Library shall contain an item called "Public Comments." This item will be placed near the top of the agenda and before any action items. "Public Comments" is the time during the Board meeting when any member of the public or library employees may speak for five (5) minutes on any topic. The speaker must first be recognized by the Board President. The total time allotted for Public Comments shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes at any given meeting.
Those who want to speak during the Public Comments period should sign in with the Board Secretary with their names before the meeting comes to order. The Secretary will note in the minutes the names of those who spoke during the Public Comments period.
Each speaker must identify himself by name. Each speaker is encouraged to be brief.
The Board President, or a trustee he designates, shall act as timekeeper for each speaker. The timekeeper will stop the speaker at the end of the allotted time.
The Board President shall have the authority to determine procedural matters regarding public participation not otherwise defined in Board policy.
This policy shall not apply to meetings specifically designed to solicit public comment such as at a public hearing.
Petitions or written correspondence to the Board shall be presented at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITY BETWEEN BOARD AND LIBRARIAN
Under the Illinois Public Library Law (75 ILCS 16) the Board of Trustees is, among other functions, empowered to formulate "reasonable rules and regulations in order to render the
use of the library of the greatest benefit to the greatest number" and to "appoint a competent librarian and necessary assistants, to fix their compensation, to remove such appointees, and to retain professional consultants as needed." Thus, in defining and delineating the division of responsibility between the Board and the librarian, the Board recognizes that the ultimate responsibility to the community to provide "the greatest benefit to the greatest number" rests with the Board. Policy determination is the Board’s power and duty. Management is the Library Administrator’s responsibility, for which he or she is responsible to the Board. The division and sharing of these responsibilities fall into various categories.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE LIBRARY
Board responsibility.
It shall be the duty of the Board to determine the goals and objectives of the library and the methods of meeting them, to review the goals and objectives annually, and to evaluate progress.
Library Administrator responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall provide assistance and direction in setting goals and objectives and in determining means of evaluation.
Joint responsibility.
The Board shall relate the library and its program to the community and its needs through systematic study of the community and through systematic analysis of library service with the assistance of the Library Administrator, who shall participate fully and prepare regular reports on current progress and future needs.
WRITTEN POLICIES
Board responsibility.
The Board shall determine and adopt written policies to govern operation, use and programs of the library and shall adopt by-laws for Board procedures.
Library Administrator responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall recommend needed policies to the Board and supply samples and sources of information. The Library Administrator shall carry out the policies as adopted by the Board with recommendations and materials for study, and administer the library within the framework of the library’s goals, objectives, policies and budget.
Joint responsibility.
Both the Board and the Library Administrator shall be familiar with local, state, and national laws which affect libraries and play an active role in initiating and supporting beneficial library legislation; shall participate fully in the library system and make use of the consultants of the Illinois State Library; shall attend regional, state and national library association meetings and workshops when possible and join appropriate organizations working for improved libraries and shall study library publications.
GOVERNANCE
Board responsibility.
The Board shall cooperate with other local government officials, keeping in mind the special legal responsibilities of a library board. Board members shall attend all Board meetings and committee meetings to which they are assigned and shall carry out all special assignments promptly.
Library Administrator responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall prepare all needed library reports to the government, the system, and the Illinois State Library and shall provide copies to the Board. The Library Administrator shall attend all Board and committee meetings except those meetings or parts of meetings in which the Library Administrator’s salary and tenure are discussed.
FINANCE
Board responsibility.
The Board shall keep aware of the financial status of the library.
Library Administrator responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall provide a report of budget status and expenditure at each Board meeting. The Library Administrator shall supply facts and figures to the Board to aid in interpreting the library’s financial need.
Joint responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall prepare two annual budgets in consultation with staff and Board; first, the appropriation ordinance form which anticipates the needs for the coming year; and, second, an operating budget, once the available revenues are determined. The Board shall work with the Library Administrator to formulate these budgets, adequate to carry out the library’s goals and objectives, within any limitations of the state law.
BUDGET PRESENTATION
Library Administrator responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall assist the Board in cooperating with other libraries, and shall call the Board’s attention to ways of stretching the budget.
Joint responsibility.
The Library Administrator shall work with the Board in interpreting budget and financial needs to public officials and the public. The Board and the Library Administrator shall see that complete and accurate records concerning finances, personnel, property inventory, and annual reports are on file at the library.
The Library Administrator subscribes and adheres to the “American Library Association Statement of Professional Ethics."