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By-Laws of The Board of
Trustees
Georgetown Peabody
Library
Georgetown, Massachusetts
These By-Laws govern the actions and procedures of the Trustees of the
Georgetown Peabody Library, Georgetown, Massachusetts
Article IX Other
Name and Authorization
This organization shall be named: The
Board of Trustees of the Georgetown Peabody Library (The Board).
The Board exists by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 78, Section 10
through 13, and 21* of the General Laws of Massachusetts,
and exercises the powers and authority and assumes the responsibilities
delegated to it under said statute.
Purpose
and Objective
The Georgetown Peabody
Library exists to serve the residents of Georgetown, Massachusetts and,
in accordance with the requirements of the Massachusetts Board of
Library Commissioners, residents of other Massachusetts towns who hold
library cards in good standing to their home libraries.
Trustees
Method of board
selection and officer’s selection, duties, appointments,
resignation/vacancies, and term
The Board shall
have the custody and management of the library, its services and
facilities, and of all property owned by the town relating thereto. All
money raised or appropriated by the town for its support and maintenance
of the library shall be expended by The Board, and all money or property
which the town may receive by gift or bequest for the library, its
services and facilities shall be administered by The Board in accordance
with the provisions of such gift or bequest. The Board is responsible
for approval of the library budget.
The Board
will establish a written policy dealing with the selection of library
materials in accordance with MGL, Chapter 78, Section 2.
The Board
will provide a report to the town in an Annual Report dealing with
receipts and expenditures of the library in accordance with MGL, Chapter
78, Section 12.
The Board is made up of six elected members,
two of whom shall be elected each year at the Annual Town Meeting
Elections, as provided for in MGL, Chapter 78, Section 10. Trustees
serve without compensation for a term of three years.
Any member of The Board may resign by
providing written notice with the Town Clerk, as provided for in MGL,
Chapter 41, Section 109. Upon receipt of the notice, the Town Clerk
will notify The Board members.
A vacancy on The Board shall be filled by
joint majority vote of The Board and The Board of
Selectmen in accordance with MGL, Chapter 41, Section 11. Each member of
each board has one vote.
Any Board member who fails to attend three
consecutive regularly scheduled board
meetings will be
advised of this fact in writing by the Chair of The Board. The trustee
who has been absent will be asked to show his/her interest in continuing
to serve on The Board by faithfully attending meetings in the future.
Any member who misses four consecutive meetings will receive a letter
from the Chair requesting that she/he consider resigning from The
Board. Copies of these letters shall be included in the minutes of The
Board. In the even of illness or other extenuating circumstances,
exceptions to this provision may be made by formal vote of The Board.
The officers of The Board shall be
Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
The officers shall be
elected by The Board at the annual meeting which will be held at the
June meeting of The Board or the earliest meeting following the annual
town election.
The officers shall not
be elected to more than two successive terms with a term being
designated as one calendar year.
Duties of the Chair
(a) Preside at all meetings of The Board.
(b)
Call special meetings of
The Board.
(c)
Serve as ex-officio
member of all committees of The Board.
(d)
Represent The Board in matters
dealing with the library.
(e)
Appoint
committees of one or more members each for such specific business of The
Board may require.
Duties of the Vice-Chair
(a) Perform the duties of the Chair of The
Board at his/her request or in his/her absence.
(b) Other duties to be determined in
support of the Chair.
Duties
of the Secretary
(a)
Post all meetings as required
by law.
(b)
Record and distribute minutes
of all meetings of The Board
(c)
Prepare correspondence as
directed by The Board.
Duties
of the Treasurer:
(a) Serve as chair of the budget and
fund raising committee.
Meetings
The regular meetings of The Board shall be held on the second Wednesday
of each month at a location in compliance with the American with
Disabilities Act (ADA). Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the
public in accordance with MGL, Chapter 39, Section 23A – 23C Open
Meeting Law.
The Board shall meet in executive session
when required in accordance with Open Meeting Law procedures.
Meeting notices shall be filed with the Town
Clerk at least 48 hours prior to the meeting date and time, and a copy
of the notice will be posted in the Town Hall.
All records of minutes
will be available for public inspection at the library.
A majority of The Board members shall
constitute a quorum.
Roberts’s Rules of Order
will be the standard for parliamentary procedure.
Any person adjudged to
be unruly may be removed from an open meeting of The Board by the
presiding officer.
Library Director and Staff
The Board shall appoint a qualified
Library Director who shall be the chief executive and administrative
officer of the library on behalf of The Board and under its review and
direction in accordance with the job description of Director as
maintained by the Personnel Board of the Town of Georgetown.
The Director shares with The Board the
responsibility for the care of the library building and equipment, for
the employment and direction of the staff within the framework of the
Personnel By-laws of the Town of Georgetown, for the efficiency of the
library’s service to the public, and for the operation of the library
under the financial conditions set forth in the annual budget.
The Board, with input from the Director,
shall select the Children’s Librarian who will be supervised by the
Director.
It is the responsibility of the Director to
attend all meetings of The Board except those at which his/her
appointment, salary, or evaluation is to be discussed or decided.
Collective authority of The
Board
All decisions of The Board are to be
made by The Board as a collective body and no individual member may make
decisions or, with exception of the Chair, act or speak for The Board
unless specifically authorized to do so by a majority vote of the
membership of The Board.
Provision for Amendments
These
By-laws may be amended at any regular meeting of The Board or at any
special meeting with a quorum present, provided the proposed amendment
was stated in the call for meeting.
An
amendment requires a majority vote of the members present.
Inconsistent Provision and Severability
To the
extent that any provision of these By-laws is inconsistent with any
provision of the Massachusetts General Laws or the Town By-laws or
Charter, the Massachusetts General Laws or the Town By-laws or Charter,
as the case may be, shall govern. In the event any article or section,
subsection or provision of any article of these By-laws shall be held to
be unconstitutional or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the
validity or constitutionality of any other article or any other section,
subsection or provision.
ARTICLE IX
Other
Voted and approved
by The Board, November 19, 2003.
Applicable Massachusetts General Laws
MGL, ch. 78, sec. 10
deals with how the town selects trustees, elections and makeup of The
Board.
MGL, ch. 78, sec. 11deals with the powers and duties of a trustee.
MGL, ch. 78, sec. 12
requires the trustees to issue and annual report to the town on receipts
and expenditures.
MGL, ch. 78, sec.13
deals with non-applicability of the previous sections to library
associations and libraries organized under a special act.
MGL, ch. 78, sec. 33
requires the trustees to adopt a written policy for the selection of
library materials.
MGL, ch. 41, sec. 109
deals with the resignation of town officers and residential requirements
for holding office.
MGL, ch. 41, sec.11
outlines the requirements a town must take to fill such a vacancy.
.n.b. Selectmen must be included in
this process.
MGL, ch. 39, sec.23A
defines words in the proceeding sections.
MGL, ch. 39, sec. 23B
explains open meetings and executive sessions and under what criteria an
executive session may be called.
MGL, ch. 39 sec, 23C
allows presiding officer in an open meeting to remove unruly persons. |
