Library By-Laws

BY-LAWS OF THE ADDISON TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD which operates under the authority of the Michigan Public Act #164 of the year 1877.

 

ARTICLE 1 – NAME

The Board shall be known as the Addison Township Public Library Board (“Board”).

ARTICLE 2 - OBJECT

The principle object for which this Board is formed is to provide efficient and

economical library services to the citizens of the Addison Township area and to

encourage usage of the facilities by the Public.

ARTICLE 3 – MEMBERSHIP

Section 3.1- General Membership

The Board shall consist of six members who shall be elected by a majority of the

people at the annual election in November 1988 and every four years thereafter.

Membership terms will commence at 12 p.m. on November 20 following the November

general election. Prior to taking office, an Oath of public officers must be completed

to be fully qualified to take office. If an official other than the clerk administers the

oath, the original oath affidavit or a copy of the affidavit must be provided to the

township clerk for official township records.

Section 3.2 - Trustee Resignation and Vacancy

The Board shall fill a vacancy on the Board by appointment of an individual to hold

said office until the next regularly scheduled election.

Resignation from the Board must be made in writing to the said Board. A Board

vacancy is to be posted in the library within five (5) working days of the date of

acceptance of the member’s resignation by the Board during a meeting of the Board.

An interview committee will be appointed by the board president. This committee

will consist of no less than two (2) and no more than three (3) members from the

existing Board. The members of this committee shall determine the selection

procedures. Final selection of the new Board member is the sole responsibility of the

Board.

Section 3.3 - Incompatible office

The members of the Board shall not be a subordinate of one public officer to another

and the supervision of one public officer by another (Public Act 566 of 1978, 15.181,

et.seq.).

ARTICLE 4 – OFFICERS

Officers shall be as follows: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. An

Officer may succeed him or herself. When there is a rotation of officer positions, it is

encouraged to have established members (members with 1 year or more of service on

the Board) acting in the roles of President and Vice President. This allows new

members to gather an understanding of operations and special projects prior to taking

a demanding officer role.

Section 4.1 - Nominations

Officers of the Board shall be nominated from the body of the current members and

elected by a vote of the current members of the Board at the first meeting of the

Board that follows their election and at the annual meeting thereafter.

Section 4.2 - Insurance

The Board shall be insured by a Directors and Officers Liability insurance policy to be

obtained by the library.

Section 4.3 - Officer Responsibilities

In the event an officer is not able to perform their duties, an election to fill the

vacancy will be held no later than the next scheduled Board meeting when the

vacancy is announced.

ARTICLE 5 – DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1 - President

The President of the Board shall preside at all meetings, appoint all committees,

authorize a call for any special meetings, act as liaison between the Board and

Director and generally perform the duties of a presiding officer.

Section 2 - Vice-President

The Vice-President shall preside and act in the absence of the President.

Section 3 - Secretary

The Secretary of the Board shall keep a true and accurate account of all proceedings

of the Board meetings.

Section 4 - Treasurer

The Treasurer of the Board shall keep him or herself informed on the status of the

Library Fund and shall report at each meeting on the state of the funds. The Treasurer

shall also maintain access to all bank accounts belonging to the Library and act as a

signatory for filing tax documents.

ARTICLE 6 - POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD

The Library Board is the legal face of the library and has a fiduciary duty to act in the

best interests of the library in all matters, especially in financial matters. The Board’s

power and authority is only valid when exercised as a unit in conformity with the

Michigan Open Meeting Act (Act No. 27 of the Public Acts of 1976, MCL 15.26-15.275).

Individual trustees may not act alone, nor speak for the Board, unless authorized by

the Board as a whole.

The Board has the legal authority to:

● Adopt bylaws and rules for the Board’s governance;

● Maintain control over the building and grounds of the library;

● Control the expenditure of all funds credited to the library;

● Appoint, supervise, evaluate, discipline or remove a suitable director, librarian

and necessary assistants;

● Approve an annual library budget;

● Adopt policies, rules and regulations regarding use of the library

ARTICLE 7 – COMMITTEES

The Board may maintain standing committees to assist in compiling information or

proposing solutions. Committees may not act for the Board as a whole. Committees

shall consist of 1 but not more than 3 members from the Board and are open for the

public of the service area to join. The following standing committees may exist for

the purposes described:

● Policy - Ongoing review and updating of existing library policies or propose new

policies, when needed for the Library.

● Finance - Oversight of library banking and investment activities.

● Personnel - Aid in reporting differences of opinion, such as personnel disputes

and complaints from citizens.

● Library Property Maintenance - Review library property for necessary

maintenance or repairs.

Special committees for the study and investigation of special problems may be

appointed by the President and such committees shall be dissolved when their specific

functions have been completed.

ARTICLE 8 – MEETINGS

The Board shall meet the third Tuesday of each month, except July and December, at

7:00 P.M. at the Library. The November meeting shall be the annual meeting, unless

unforeseen circumstances require rescheduling. Special meetings may be called by

the President, or upon request of three members, for the transaction of business as

stated in the call. This Board will be in compliance with the Michigan Open Meetings

Act (Act No. 27 of the Public Acts of 1976, MCL 15.26-15.275). The meetings will be

conducted according to Roberts’ Rules of Order.

Meeting minutes shall be approved during a regular scheduled meeting following the

posted meeting date. The approved minutes shall be made available on the Addison

Township Public Library website or printed copy available in the Library for public

inspection within 5 business days after the meeting at which the minutes are

approved by the Library Board. Draft meeting minutes will be available upon request

for public perusal within 8 business days after the meeting to which the minutes refer.

Meeting minutes recorded for closed meetings shall follow Michigan Open Meetings

Act (Act No. 27 of the Public Acts of 1976, MCL 15.26-15.275).

ARTICLE 9 – QUORUM

A quorum for any meeting shall exist of four members.

ARTICLE 10 – LIBRARY DIRECTOR

The Library Director (“Director”) shall be considered the executive officer of the

Library and is responsible for the administration at the Library, following policies and

procedures as determined by the Board.

The Board will delegate authority and duties to the Director as necessary for the

Director to successfully implement the Board’s vision and plan for the library and its

services to the community.

While the law gives the Board the legal power to run the library, successful library

operations require the Board to delegate some of its authority to the Director. This

delegation is entirely at the Board’s discretion: the Board decides when and what to

delegate, as well as whether to amend or revoke the delegation.

The Director shall retain at minimum one (1) staff member that will assist with

director duties as approved by the Board and preside in the absence of the Director.

This staff member shall meet the qualifications deemed necessary by the Board. The

Director will be responsible for the hiring, supervision, and evaluation of this position

and all other staff.

The Board President will, at the regular meeting in August of each year, appoint a

Director’s Evaluation Committee. This committee will, with the involvement of the

total Board, be responsible for conducting an evaluation of the Director’s job

performance. The results of this evaluation shall be presented at a meeting of the

Board President, Chair of the Director’s Evaluation Committee and the Library

Director.

The Director shall attend all Board meetings except as approved by the Board

President.

ARTICLE 11 – LIBRARY PROPERTY

The Board is responsible for the care and custody of all library property and to

provide suitable facilities. Changes to the layout, public accesses and uses within the

facility and grounds shall be approved by the Board.

The Library Board is authorized to hold, acquire, purchase or lease in the name of the

library, such site or sites within or without the Township for libraries, administration

buildings, other buildings and any other property as may be necessary in the

foreseeable future; to purchase, lease, acquire, erect or build and equip such

buildings for library use as may be necessary; to pay for the same out of the funds of

the library provided for the purpose; to sell, exchange, or lease, subject to the City,

Village and Township Libraries Act 164 of 1877, any real or personal property of the

library which is no longer required thereby for the library purposes; and, to give

proper deeds, bills of sale or other instruments passing title to the same.

Raising and Borrowing Money: The Board is authorized to initiate the necessary

procedures to raise or borrow money for library purposes by any means authorized by

the law.

ARTICLE 12 - RECORD RETENTION

All record retention will be retained based on the required retention period at a

minimum per State of Michigan Records Retention and Disposal Schedule - General

Schedule #17 - Public Libraries.

ARTICLE 13 – ORDER OF BUSINESS

A typical agenda may look like the following:

Call to Order:

Pledge of Allegiance:

Call to Audience:

Approval of the Agenda:

Approval of the Consent Agenda: (Consent Agenda consists of previous meeting

minutes and bills paid)

Approval of the Financial Report:

Report of the Library Director:

Reports of the Committees:

Unfinished Business:

New Business:

Public Forum:

Adjournment:

ARTICLE 14 – AMENDMENTS

These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Board with a quorum

present by majority vote of the members present, providing the amendment was

stated in the call for the meeting.

Adopted 9/18/1984

Amended 4/16/2002

Amended 1/20/2004

Amended 3/15/2005

Amended 10/17/2006

Amended 2/19/2008

Amended 7/13/2018

Amended 8/8/2018

Amended 3/21/2023

Amended 5/21/2024

Amended 11/19/2024