Board of Trustees By-Laws

Article I. Name

This organization shall be called "The Board of Trustees of the North Liberty Community Library" existing by virtue of the provisions of the North Liberty City Ordinance No. 86-1 and exercising the powers and authority and assuming the responsibilities delegated to it under the said ordinance.

Article II. Officers

Section 1. The officers shall be a president, a vice-president and a secretary elected from the appointed members at the annual meeting.

Section 2. Officers shall serve a term of one year from the annual meeting at which they are elected and until their successors are duly elected.

Section 3. The president shall preside at all meetings of the Board, appoint all committees, prepare an agenda for each meeting, serve as an ex-officio voting member of all committees, and generally perform all duties associated with that office.

Section 4. The vice-president, in the event of the absence or disability of the president, or secretary, or a vacancy in those offices, shall assume and perform the duties and functions of the president or secretary.

Section 5. The secretary shall keep a true and accurate record of all meetings of the Board. The president shall prepare an agenda for each meeting in a timely manner. The secretary shall record in the Minutes the attendance of board members at meetings in the following manner: absent, not present and present. (Refer to City Ordinance 86-1, Section 6 Part B, Vacancies)

Article III. Meetings

Section l. The regular meetings shall be held each month, the date and hour to be set by the Board at its annual meeting.

Section 2A. The annual meeting, which shall be for the election of officers, shall be held at the time of the regular meeting in January of each year.

Section 3. The order of business for regular meetings shall include, but not be limited to the following: minutes, financial reports, reports of the Friends of the Library and Teen Boards, committee reports, staff reports, old business, new business, and "other".

Section 4. Special meetings may be called by the secretary at the direction of the president, or at the request of two (2) members for the transaction of business as stated in the call for the meeting.

Section 5. A quorum shall be required for the transaction of business at any meeting. Three (3) members will be required for the five-member board and four (4) members will be required for the six-member board. Voting by proxy will not be allowed.

Section 6. Notice of regular and special meetings shall comply with open meeting rules of twenty-four (24) hour posting.

Section 7. The agenda for the next meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting, and any other materials needed for consideration by the Board shall be available to the members at least two (2) days before each scheduled meeting.

Section 8. Replacement of a trustee will follow North Liberty Ordinance No. 86-1, Section 6B with the recommendation that a trustee serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms.

Section 9. Board members shall be required to attend all meetings. More than three (3) unexcused absences in a calendar year will result in immediate termination from the Board. Long-term absences will be dealt with on an individual basis and should be presented to the Board for discussion and approval. Library Director needs to be notified prior to Board meeting of an upcoming absence.

Section 10. Conduct of meetings and proceedings of all meetings shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order.

Article IV. Committees

Section 1. The president shall appoint committees of one or more members each for such specific purposes as the business of the Board may require from time to time. The committee shall be considered to be discharged upon the completion of the purpose for which it was appointed and after the final report is made to the Board.

Section 2. All committees shall make a progress report to the Library Board at each of its meetings.

Section 3. No committee will have other than advisory powers unless, by suitable action of the Board, it is granted specific power to act.

Article V. General

Section 1. An affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the Board present at the time shall be necessary to approve any action before the Board. The president may make a motion and is entitled to vote when the vote is by ballot and in all other cases where the vote would change the result.

Section 2. The bylaws may be amended by the majority vote of all members of the Board provided written notice of the proposed amendment shall have been submitted to all members prior to the meeting at which such action is proposed to be taken. Any such amendments shall be subject to approval by the City Council of North Liberty.

Section 3. If a majority of the Board members feel that another member is not meeting his/her obligations as a member of the Board , the Board may forward a recommendation to the mayor to remove the member from the Board. The recommendation must be approved by a majority of the Board members present and the Board member who is the subject of the recommendation may vote. The president of the Board and the member who is subject of the recommendation should attend the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting or otherwise provide input to the City Council regarding the recommendation. As the appointing authority of the Board, the mayor has the authority of the Board to admonish Board members to fulfill their obligations, or the mayor may dismiss any Board member at any time, regardless of any recommendation from the Board.

• Approved September 1996
• Reviewed and revised May 2001
• Reviewed and revised May 2002
• Reviewed and revised March 2005
• Reviewed and revised June 2006
• Reviewed March 2007
  Reviewed March 2008