BYLAWS
SHOALS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Article I
Identification
Section 1. The name of this Board is the “Board of Trustees of the Shoals Public Library,”
hereinafter referred to as “the Board.” The Shoals Public Library will hereinafter be referred to
as “the Library.”
Section 2. The Library district includes the Town of Shoals, West Shoals, Halbert Township,
Mitcheltree Township, Lost River Township, and Center Township, in Martin County Indiana.
The Library district boundaries, for tax purposes, are identical to the Shoals Community School
Corporation boundaries.
Article II
Authority and Purpose
Section 1. The Board shall govern the Library, a municipal, Class 1 library organized under the
public library provisions, according to the purposes and authority set forth in IC 36-12, as
amended, and such other Indiana and federal laws as affect the operation of the Library.
Section 2. Members of the Board of Trustees shall serve without compensation, except that the
Treasurer may be paid, per IC 36-12-2-21. A Board member may not serve as a paid employee
of the public library.
Section 3. Necessary travel and/or meal expenses of any Board member incurred in the interest
and business of the library may be reimbursed out of library funds, per policy or Board
resolution. Such travel on behalf of the Library shall be approved by the Board.
Section 4. The Board may engage legal counsel as needed for legal advice. The President of the
Board or the library director may request the legal opinions of legal counsel for any matter which
comes within the jurisdiction of the Board, and shall report the opinion to the Board.
Article III
Personnel
Section 1. The Library Board shall select a librarian who holds a certificate under IC 36-12-11 to
serve as the director of the Library. The selection shall be made solely upon the basis of the
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candidate’s training and proficiency in the science of library administration. The Board shall fix
the compensation of the director. The director, as the administrative head of the library, is
responsible to the Board for the operation and management of the Library, per IC 36-12-2-24(a)
and shall be subject to removal by the Board at a regular or special meeting.
Section 2. The director shall have the power to propose administrative regulations or procedures
governing the Library which logically stem from adopted and approved Board policies. Such
regulations or procedures shall be consistent with the policies of the Board and must be approved
by the Board.
Section 3. Subject to the direction of the Board, the director shall have supervisory charge,
control and management of the building(s) and equipment, as well as all of the employees in and
about the same, for the efficiency of the library’s service to the public, for the administration of
the long range plan and short term goals, and for the operation of the Library under the financial
conditions set forth in the annual budget.
Section 4. The director shall be held responsible for the classifying, cataloging and shelving of
books; the enforcement of the rules; and the accuracy of the records; as well as the reliability of
his accounts.
Section 5. The director shall keep an itemized account of all his receipts and expenditures on
behalf of the Library and report the same to the Board monthly.
Section 6. The director shall make a monthly report of the operations of the Library, including
such recommendations as in his opinion will promote its efficiency.
Section 7. The director shall place all orders for books and supplies ordered in the name of the
Library.
Section 8. The director shall attend all Library Board meetings, except those at which his/her
appointment, salary, or performance is to be discussed or decided.
Section 9. The Board shall employ the assistant(s) and janitor, but they shall be subject to
removal by the Board at a regular or special meeting.
Article IV
Conflicts of Interest
Section 1. Board members and director, in the capacity of trust imposed upon them, shall
observe ethical standards with absolute truth, integrity and honor.
Section 2. Board members and director shall promote a high level of service while observing
ethical standards.
Section 3. Board members and director shall avoid situations in which personal interests might
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be served or financial benefits gained at the expense of Library users, colleagues or the
institution.
Section 4. Board members and director will not use the Library for personal advantage or the
personal advantage of friends or relatives.
Section 5. Board members and director will declare any conflict of interest between their
personal life and their position on the Library Board and avoid voting on issues that appear to be
a conflict of interest. It is incumbent upon any Board member to disqualify or recuse
himself/herself from voting immediately whenever the appearance of a conflict of interest exists.
Section 6. If the possibility of a long-term conflict of interest exists, the Board member or
director shall complete the Uniform Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form annually.
Article V
Nepotism
Section 1. The Library will always hire employees based on their experience, skills and merit. If
a family member of a Board member or current staff member is interested in a position with the
Library, that person should apply through standard channels.
Section 2. No immediate family member (spouse, child, parent, or sibling) of a current staff
member will be considered for a position wherein one member would have supervisory duties
over the other.
Article VI
Amendments
Section 1. The Board may amend these bylaws at any regular meeting of the Board by majority
vote of the members.
Section 2. Amendments shall be proposed one month in advance of voting, and a copy provided
to each Board member at least 15 days before the meeting.
Section 3. Any member of the Board may propose amendments.
Section 4. The amendments for each year shall be sent to the Indiana State Library upon
submission of the annual report.
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Article VII
Membership
Section 1. Members of the Board shall be appointed pursuant to IC 36-12-2-9, and as follows:
Class 1 Library (town/city, township, multiple townships, county
library)
Appointing Authority
Trustee 1 – IC 36-12-2-9(1) County Executive
Trustee 2 – IC 36-12-2-9(2) County Fiscal Body
Trustee 3 – IC 36-12-2-9(3) School Board
Trustee 4 – IC 36-12-2-9(3) School Board
Trustee 5 – IC 36-12-2-9(3) School Board
Trustee 6 – IC 36-12-2-9(4) (IC 36-12-2-10(1), 11(b1), 12(1), 13(1),
or 14(1))
County Executive
Trustee 7 – IC 36-12-2-9(5) (IC 36-12-2-10(2), 11(b2), 12(2), 13(2),
or 14(2))
County Fiscal Body
Article VIII
Officers
Section 1. Officers of the Board shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer,
per IC 36-12-2-22 and IC 36-12-2-23.
Section 2. The officers shall be elected at the December meeting for a term of one year per IC
36-12-2-23.
Section 3. Vacancies in office shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the Board after the
vacancy occurs.
Section 4. The Board may remove any officer at any regular or special meeting by a majority
vote of the entire membership of the Board.
Section 5. The duties of the officers shall be such as by custom and law, including IC 36-12-2-22
et seq. and the rules of this Board devolve upon such officers in accordance with their titles.
Section 6. The President shall preside at Board meetings, appoint committees deemed necessary,
certify all bills allowed by the Board, sign all warrants on the Treasurer for the payment of
money, enforce the observance of these rules, and perform such other duties as pertain to the
office of the President and are necessary to carry out the wishes of the Board.
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Section 7. The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of the
latter.
Section 8. The Secretary shall record all proceedings of the Board and shall notify the proper
appointing powers of vacancies on the Board, such notice shall be given when possible, two
weeks before the vacancy occurs. He shall keep a record of attendance at Board meetings, and if
any member is absent without reasonable excuse from four (4) consecutive regular meetings, or
during one (1) year is absent from a total of seven (7) meetings, it shall be the duty of the
secretary to inform the appointing authority that the member is not serving the best interests of
the Public Library and should be replaced by someone who will take active part in the work; but
this rule may be suspended by unanimous consent of all the members of the Board.
Section 9. The Treasurer shall be the official custodian of all Library funds; shall be responsible
for the proper safeguarding and accounting of all Library funds; shall issue warrants approved by
the Library Board in payment of expenses lawfully incurred in behalf of the public Library; and
shall make financial reports of Library funds and present the reports to the Library Board every
month. The Board may remove the Treasurer at any regular or special meeting by a majority
vote of the entire membership of the Board. The Treasurer shall give a surety bond, in
accordance with Public Law, for the faithful performance of his duty and for the accurate
accounting of all money coming into his custody.
Article IX
Meetings
Section 1. The Board shall meet monthly on the first Monday of each month. The meeting days
for the entire year shall be set at the first annual meeting, which shall be the January meeting, per
IC 36-12-2-23. In the event that a regularly scheduled meeting is a legal holiday, the meeting
will be held on the next calendar day or on any day established by the Board.
Section 2. The full Board and its officers constitutes The Board of Finance and shall meet
annually in January, after the first Monday and on or before the last day of January, to review
finances and depositories, per IC 5-13-7-5 et seq.
Section 3. Regular, special and executive session meetings will be publicized and conducted in
accordance with the Open Door Law of Indiana (IC 5-14-1.5).
Section 4. The President or the Board, upon written request of a majority of the Board members,
may call special meetings for the transaction of business as stated in the call, per IC 36-12-2-23.
Notice stating the time and place of any special meeting and the purpose for which called shall be
given each member of the Board at least two days in advance of such meeting and to the local
media 48 hours in advance, excluding holidays and weekends, per IC 5-14-1.5-5.
Section 5. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of a simple majority, which is
equal to 50% of the seats established by law plus one, regardless of any current vacancies on a
library’s board.
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Section 6. The order of business shall be:
1. Call to Order 6. Librarian’s Report
2. Public Input 7. Committee Reports
3. Reading and Approving of Minutes 8. Old Business
4. Treasurer’s Report 9. New Business
5. Signing of Claims 10. Adjournment
Section 7. Robert’s Rules of Order, latest revised edition, shall govern the parliamentary
procedure of the Board.
Article X
Committees
Section 1. The standing committee of the Board shall be a Finance Committee consisting of
three (3) members and to be appointed at or before the second regular meeting of the year, or, in
case of vacancies by resignation, etc., at or before the second regular meeting after such vacancy
occurs. The President by virtue of his office shall be one (1) member of the finance committee.
Section 2. The Finance Committee shall look after the financial affairs of the Library generally.
It shall also prepare, in co-operation with the director, annual budgets of expenditures and
recommend to the Board at its July meeting the rate of taxation that will be necessary to maintain
the Library for the ensuing year.
Section 3. The President, with the approval of the Board, may appoint Special committees for
the study of specific issues and problems to serve until the final report of the work for which they
were appointed has been filed at a regular Board meeting.
Section 4. No committee will have other than advisory powers unless, by suitable action of the
Board, it is granted specific power to act. All committee reports and/or recommendations shall
be submitted in writing upon request. Reports of committees shall be signed by at least two
members thereof.
Section 5. Committees may have citizen members, as deemed appropriate for their purpose by
the Board.
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Article XI
Expenditures
Section 1. No indebtedness shall be incurred without the previous approval of the Board.
Section 2. No committee shall authorize an expense of more than $100 in any one month without
having secured the sanction of the Board in advance.
Section 3. All bills for Library purchases shall be itemized.
Section 4. No bill shall be paid by the Board until it has received the approval of the director and
the Board.
Section 5. Bills, when allowed, shall be paid by claims/vouchers signed by the majority of the
Library Board. All bills paid shall be receipted and filed in the Library as permanent records.
Article XII
Policies, Plans, Rules, and Regulations
Section 1. In addition to operating in accordance with these bylaws and the laws of the State of
Indiana, the Board shall adopt policies, plans, rules, and regulations to govern its operations, and
may affirm policies, plans, rules, and regulations proposed by the Library Director for the
management and administration of the Library, as required by 590 IAC 6-1-4(d), 590 IAC 6-1-4€
and 590 IAC 6-1-4(h).
Section 2. All policies, plans, rules, and regulations shall be compiled and organized in a manual
to be known as “The Policies, Plans, Rules, and Regulations of the Shoals Public Library.”
Article XIII
Amendments and Review of Bylaws
Section 1. Amendments hereto shall be made only at a regular meeting of the Board. Proposed
amendments must be submitted to the Board at least one (1) regular meeting prior to the meeting
during which final action will be taken by the Board.
Section 2. The Board will review, as public law (590 IAC 6-1-4(g) requires, the Bylaws of the
Shoals Public Library at least every three years. The Board may review and amended the Bylaws
as occasion may require. The Secretary shall affix the date of review for audit purposes, and will
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indicate the action in the minutes.
These Bylaws were reviewed and approved by the Shoals Public Library Board of Trustees at a
regular meeting.