Board of Trustees Bylaws

A. The By-Laws of the Board of Library Trustees of the Village of Downers Grove Public Library

Article I. Membership and Terms of Office

Section 1. Legal Requirement
The duties and responsibilities of the Board of Library Trustees are defined in the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 75, Article 5. "Illinois Local Library Act."

Section 2. Appointment of Trustees
Pursuant to the requirements for villages under the commission form of government of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 75, Article 5 Section 5/4-2, the Library Board of Trustees of the Village of Downers Grove shall consist of six members appointed by the Village Council of said Village.

Section 3. Term of Office
A full term on the Board of Trustees is six years. The terms are staggered so that one term expires on April 30 of each year. A Trustee is appointed when a vacancy occurs and serves until the end of the term in which the vacancy occurred. A Trustee whose term has expired is encouraged to continue to serve until a successor is appointed. Reappointments are made by the Village Council.

Section 4. Participation Requirements
Pursuant to the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 75, Section 5/4-4, a vacancy occurs "when the appointed Trustee declines to serve, or is unable to serve, or is absent without cause from all regular meetings for a period of one year."

Section 5. Resignations
If a Trustee wishes to resign from service on the Board, it is requested that a minimum of three months notice be given to the Library Board to allow the Village Council time to make a new appointment.

Section 6. Orientation of New Board Members
The President of the Library Board and the Library Administrator shall meet with any new member(s) of the board within one month of appointment in order to review with the new member(s) key operational and policy information.

Section 7. Compensation
Trustees serve without compensation. Reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties shall be made, subject to Board approval.

Section 8. Conflicts of Interest
No trustee shall derive any personal profit or gain, directly or indirectly, by reason of his or her participation with the Board of Library Trustees. Each individual shall disclose to the Board any personal interest which he or she may have in any matter pending before the Board and shall abstain form participation and voting on any matter were the trustee has a conflict of interest. If there is no conflict of interest but there may be a perception of a conflict of interest, a board member may vote if the member has disclosed in the record the nature of the conflict, otherwise the board member should abstain.

Article II. Purpose and Responsibilities

Section 1. The Role of the Library Board
The responsibility of the Library Board of Trustees is to determine the mission of the library in the community and to develop appropriate goals for service; to seek adequate funding to achieve the goals of the library; to adopt written policies to govern the operation of the library; to authorize plans of expenditure to allow implementation of the library's service program; to be aware of issues in library service and legislation affecting libraries; to communicate actively with local government and the general public; and to employ a competent and qualified library administrator.

Section 2. The Role of the Library Administrator
The library director is not a member of the Board, but is employed to act as the professional advisor to the Board and as the manager of library operations. In this capacity, the library director is responsible for planning, budgeting, recommending and implementing policies, employing and managing the library staff, and enacting the adopted plan of service. The library director reports directly to the Library Board and participates actively at all board meetings, but without a vote.

Article III. Officers

Section 1. Board Officers
The elected officers of the Board shall be a President and a Secretary. Officers shall serve a term of two years.

Section 2. Election of Officers
Officers shall be elected by the Board from its members at a regular or special meeting in May in even numbered years, or at the first subsequent meeting at which the required number of trustees are present. Election of an officer requires an affirmative vote by a majority of the appointed Trustees. Any Trustee may nominate members of the Board for office. In the case that more than one nomination is made for an office, a blind ballot shall be used. If an unresolvable tie vote results a decision will be made by drawing lots. Newly elected officers will assume their responsibilities after the close of the meeting at which the election was held.

Section 3. Special Elections of Officers
A special election will be held to fill any vacancy created by officers who leave the Board before completing their term of office. The length of the term will be limited to the remaining months of service in the term vacated by the officer.

Section 4. The President
The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board, appoint all committees, and perform other duties normally associated with the office or assigned to the office by the board. In the absence of the President, the Secretary shall preside over the meeting.

Section 5. The Secretary
The Secretary has the responsibility to see that adequate minutes of meetings of the Board are taken and maintained as a public record. The Secretary signs minutes of meetings after their approval by the Library Board. The Secretary also certifies documents on behalf of the Board, including levy requests, grant applications and annual reports. In the absence of the President, the Secretary will preside over the Board meeting. In the absence of the Secretary, a secretary pro tem will be appointed.

Section 6. The Treasurer
The Library Board does not elect a Treasurer from among its members. The Village Treasurer serves as the official bonded Treasurer for the Library Board of Trustees and coordinates financial services on behalf of the Board. The Village Treasurer has no voting privileges on the Library Board.

Article IV. Meetings

Section 1. Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held at the Library on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 PM. Time and place of meetings shall be published at the beginning of each calendar year. All business meetings and committee meetings of the Board of Trustees are open to the public as provided in the "Illinois Open Meetings Act."

Section 2. Special Meetings
Special meetings may be held at any time at the call of the President, the Secretary, or any two members of the board. Except in the case of a bona fide emergency, notice and the agenda of the special meeting must be delivered to all board members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.

Section 3. Quorum
A quorum at Library Board meetings is achieved when the majority of those members appointed to the board are present.

Section 4. Public Notice
The Library Administration shall issue notice of all meetings to members of the Board, the press and the public in accordance with current legal requirements. Notice shall include the agenda of business items to be discussed at the meeting.

Section 5. Rules Governing Procedures
The latest edition of Roberts Rules of Order shall govern the parliamentary procedures of the Board to the extent practicable.

Article V. Committees

The Library Board of Trustees shall function as a committee of the whole, with special assignments being undertaken by individuals or ad-hoc committees as deemed appropriate. No committee shall have other than advisory powers unless, by formal action of the Board, it is granted specific power to act. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees with full rights.

Article VI. Amendments to the By-Laws

These by-laws may be altered, amended or repealed and new by-laws adopted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the appointed Board at a regular meeting, provided the following conditions have been met.

1. An initial draft of proposed changes are presented to the Board at a regular meeting;

2. Discussion and suggested revisions are sought at a second regular meeting; and

3. The final text of amendments is mailed to each Board member with the agenda for a third regular meeting.

A vote on the amended by-laws may occur at the third regular meeting.

B. Obligations of Library Trustees

1. All trustees are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association

2. Trustees must avoid situations in which personal interests might be served or financial benefit gained at the expense of library users, colleagues, or the institution. It is incumbent upon any trustee to disqualify himself or herself immediately, whenever the appearance of a conflict of interest exists. Trustees must be aware of and comply with the Illinois Governmental Ethics and State Gift Ban Act.

3. Trustees must distinguish clearly in their actions and statements between their personal philosophies and attitudes, and those of the institution, acknowledging the formal position of the board even if they personally disagree.

4. Trustees must be aware that the public has a right to most information about the governance and operation of the library. Trustees must comply with applicable laws including the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act. Trustees must also be aware that some aspects of library work is confidential including individual employee's personnel records and records of patron's use of library materials.

5. Trustees must be prepared to support to the fullest, the efforts of librarians in resisting censorship of library materials by groups or individuals.

6. Trustees who accept library board responsibilities are expected to perform all of the functions of library trustees.

C. Professional Meetings, Workshops, Training, and Memberships

Library Trustees are encouraged to participate in professional organizations and to attend workshops, conferences, and other activities related to their responsibilities. Reimbursement will be made for reasonable expenses related to these activities. Reimbursement for automobile mileage will be based on the current rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service. Membership dues for the American Library Association and the Illinois Library Association will be paid for all trustees.

D. Indemnification of Officers and Employees

If any claim or action not covered by insurance is instituted against an officer or employee of the Downers Grove Public Library allegedly arising out of an act or omission occurring within the scope of his or her duties as such officer or employee, the Downers Grove Public Library shall at the request of the officer or employee:

1. appear and defend against the claim or action;

2. pay or indemnify the officer or employee for a judgment and court costs based on such claim or action, provided there shall be no indemnification for any portion of a judgment representing an award of punitive or exemplary damages; and

3. pay or indemnify the officer or employee for a compromise or settlement of such claim or action providing the settlement is approved by the Board of Trustees of this Library.

For the purpose of this section, the term officer shall include both elected and appointed officers. The terms officer and employee shall include former officers and employees. This indemnification resolution shall not apply if the Board of Trustees finds that the claim or action is based on malicious, willful or criminal misconduct. In such case the action to be taken by the Board of Trustees will be determined after an investigation of the facts.