REVISED 09/10/2007

These rules are supplementary to the provisions of the statutes of the State of Illinois as they relate to the procedures of Boards of Library Trustees.

Regular Meetings.

The regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees of the Flora Public Library shall be on the second Monday of each month.  The meeting shall be at the library at 7:30 p.m. in the months of March-October and 7:00 p.m. in the months of November - February.  The meetings shall be open to the public and noticed in advance.  At the beginning of each fiscal year the board shall, by resolution, specify regular meeting dates and times.  The secretary of the board 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.  Both 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 new 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 except in the case of a bona fide emergency.

Annual Meeting.

An annual meeting shall be held in June for the purpose of hearing the annual reports of the librarian and committees.  The report should include a summary of the year’s work with detailed account of the receipts and expenditures, a budget for the following year, and other information according to statute.  A copy of this report shall be forwarded to the Illinois State Library in accordance with the law.  A copy should also be on file in the library.

Quorum.

A quorum at any meeting shall consist of five Board members.

Board of Library Trustees.

The Board of Library Trustees of the Flora Public Library are charged with the responsibility of the governance of the library.  The Board will hire a skilled Library Director who will be responsible for the day to day operations of the library.  The Board will meet at least once per month.  These meetings will be open to the public, and noticed in advance.

The agenda and/or information packet for the meetings will be distributed to the Board by the Library Director within one week prior to meetings.  Any Board member wishing to have an item placed on the agenda will call the Library Director in sufficient time preceding the meeting to have the item placed.  Any Board member who is unable to attend a meeting will call the library to indicate that he or she will be absent.  Due to the fact that a quorum is required for each meeting, this phone call should be placed as far in advance as possible.

Board members are not to be compensated pursuant to statute, but will be reimbursed for necessary and related expenses as trustees.  To be effective, Board members must attend most meetings, read materials presented for review, and attend an occasional Library System (or other library related) workshop, seminar, or meeting.  The Library Director will make the dates of these workshops known to the Board in a timely manner.  It is the goal of the Board of Library Trustees to have each member attend a minimum of one Library System (or other library related) workshop, seminar, or meeting during each calendar year.  Board members using their own vehicle will be reimbursed at the rate allowed by the IRS for travel to and from any Library System (or other library related) workshop, seminar, or meeting.

Because being a trustee carries a considerable responsibility to the library and to taxpayers, attendance at board meeting is very important.  Should any board member miss twelve consecutive meetings during a year, with an unexcused absence, the board reserves the right to make recommendation to the mayor to have said board member removed from the board.

Officers and Elections.

The officers of the Board shall be a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer.  Those officers shall be elected by a vote for a one-year term at the regular meeting in the month of April.  The president shall not serve more than two consecutive terms unless by unanimous board consent.  In the event of a resignation from an office, an election to fill the unexpired term of that office will be conducted by a vote at the next regular meeting.

President.

The president shall preside at all board meetings, appoint all standing and special committees, serve as ex-officio member of all committees and perform all other such duties as may be assigned by the board.  The president shall be the only spokesperson for the Board of Library Trustees in all advisory, or disciplinary, action directed to the staff.

Vice President.

The vice-president, in the absence of the president, shall assume all duties of the president.

Secretary.

The secretary shall keep minutes of all board meetings and record attendance. The secretary shall perform all other such clerical duties as may be assigned by the board.

Treasurer.

The treasurer is authorized by the Board to sign checks, and shall serve on the finance committee.  The treasurer shall keep all financial records of the Board.  The normal depository of all financial records shall be the library.  The treasurer shall have charge of the library funds and income, sign all the checks on the authorization of the board, and report at each meeting the state of the funds.  In the absence of the treasurer or when he or she is unable to serve, the president or vice-president may perform the duties of the treasurer.  The treasurer shall be bonded in the amount to be approved by the board and according to statute requirement.  The treasurer is authorized to pay salaries and insurance bills as they come due.

Standing and Special Committees.

The standing committees shall be appointed annually in the month of May and shall consist of three trustees.  Special committees may be appointed by the president to present reports or recommendations to the Board and shall serve until the completion of the work for which they were appointed.  The standing committees shall be the Finance Committee, Personnel Committee, the Policy/Long-Range Planning Committee, and the Building and Grounds Committee.  The library shall be the depository of all committee reports.

Finance Committee.

The Finance Committee shall be comprised of three members of the Library Board of Library Trustees, including the Treasurer  The Finance Committee’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, drafting a Budget and Appropriations for full board approval, drafting a working budget for full board approval, monitoring library investments, and implementing the library’s investment policy.

Personnel Committee.

The Personnel Committee shall be comprised of three members of the Library Board of Library Trustees.  The Personnel Committee’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, preparation of the annual review of the Library Director for discussion among the full board prior to the formal review, assisting the Library Director in the preparation of his or her annual statement of goals and objectives for the coming year, and assuming a leadership role in the resolution of any personnel conflict which cannot be resolved by the Library Director.  The Library Director is responsible for the annual review of all other library employees.  This committee shall serve as a Library Director Search Committee when needed.

Policy/Long-Range Planning Committee.

The Policy/Long-Range Planning Committee shall be comprised of three members of the Library Board of Library Trustees.  The primary responsibility of the Policy Committee is to develop the Library Policy. The committee shall determine the library regulations governing the use of the Library, and review sections of existing policy in a systematic fashion to insure that all policy is reviewed at an interval not to exceed 3 years.  As a result of such policy reviews, the Policy Committee will make recommendations regarding additions or changes to existing policy as well as deleting policies which are no longer appropriate or of value.  The entire library Policy must be approved by Board vote and made readily available to the public.

Building and Grounds Committee.

The Building and Grounds Committee shall be comprised of three members of the Library Board of Library.  The Building and Grounds Committee shall exercise responsibility for the proper maintenance of building and grounds, and make recommendations to the Board on any major expenditures.

Order of Business.

The following Order of Business shall be followed at regular meetings:

Call to order.

Recognition of visitors & public comments

Secretary’s report, approval of minutes as received or corrected.

Treasurer’s report

Library Director’s report.

Committee reports, in order of their appearance in the By-Laws.

Correspondence, communications, and written public comments.

Approval of bills payable.

Unfinished business.

New business.

Upcoming meetings

Other.

Adjournment.

Parliamentary Procedure.

Robert’s Rules of Order. Revised. shall govern the parliamentary procedure of the Board, unless otherwise specified in the By-Laws.

Citizen Comments

As part of its agenda, the Board shall provide a period not to exceed 15 minutes at the beginning of the order of business for citizen comment.  Interested citizens should indicate their desire to speak to the President, who will allocate the 15 minute period equally among those wishing to speak.  To avoid Illinois open meetings law violations, the board should limit itself answering basic questions from the public.  Board members and Library staff shall have three minutes each to make any relevant statements.

Should items introduced by visitors not appear on the agenda, and be characterized as specific complaints in respect to library operations, it shall be board policy to allow the Library Director or Board members time to  research the circumstances surrounding the dispute, especially if this meeting is the first the staff has heard of the matter.  To avoid Illinois open meetings law violations, the dispute will be tabled to appear on the next month’s meeting agenda.  After discussion at the next board meeting the Board will respond to the person making the complaint in writing within 10 days.

New Trustees.

The Library Director shall meet with new trustees to examine the property and review services and shall present to new trustees a packet which includes the Library Policy and other procedural material, a list of trustees and committees, minutes and financial reports for the previous 12 months, and other pertinent information.

Duties of the Library Director.

The Library Director shall administer the policies adopted by this Board.  Among duties and responsibilities of the director shall be that of hiring personnel, directing, supervising and disciplining of all staff members, monthly and annual reports as required by the Board, and recommending such policy and procedure as will promote the efficiency and service of the library.  The Library Director shall attend all board committee meetings.

Amendments.

Amendments to these By-Laws, the Library Policy, or any other policy or

procedural document may be adopted by a majority of members present at any regular meeting, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given at the last preceding regular meeting.

Copyright and Copying.

The Library may copy for its own collection material that has been lost or deteriorated only if such material is not available at a fair cost.  It will post prominently all required notices regarding the copying of any materials in the library.

Administrative Records.

Administrative records of the library shall be kept in the library and shall be available to the general public upon request.  These shall include the monthly and annual reports of the library, all financial reports, minutes of the public Board meetings and actions and other such items as the Board or Library Director shall file there.

Staff personnel records are confidential and shall be kept in a secure place; and   only the Library Director shall have access to these records.  In the event that the Library Director is incapacitated, the board shall call a special meeting to designate someone by motion and vote to have access to such records.

Confidential records of the Board, such as personnel records concerning the Library Director, shall be kept in the library and only members of the Board shall have access to these records.

Circulation Records.

Circulation records and other records identifying the names of library users with specific materials hereby are recognized as confidential in nature, and access thereto is hereby restricted to library staff, and those members of the public with a legitimate interest therein, as hereafter provided for.

All library staff and employees are hereby advised that such records shall not be made available to casual members of the public, the press, or to any agency of State, Federal, or Local government, except pursuant to such process, order or subpoena as may be authorized under the authority of and pursuant to Federal or State law relating to civil, criminal, or administrative discover procedures or legislative investigative power.

Library staff shall observe the following procedures:  On receipt of any legal process, order or subpoena, the library staff member in charge will immediately consult with the President of the Board and the Library Attorney to insure that (a) the document is in proper legal form; and (b) there has been a proper showing of good cause for its issuance, in a court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction.  Until the legality of such process, order, or subpoena has been affirmatively shown to the satisfaction of the Library Attorney, the Library will resist its issuance or enforcement until any such defects have been cured.