Board of Trustees BYLAWS
 adopted June 9, 1997; revised October 14, 2004

Article II. Membership

Pursuant to the requirements of the Wisconsin Statutes 43.54(1), the Board of Trustees of the Appleton Public Library shall consist of nine members, eight of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor of Appleton with the approval of the Common Council; the ninth member shall represent the Appleton Area School District. The regular term of office shall be three years, except that the school district representative shall serve at the pleasure of the Superintendent of Schools, and any Alderperson of the Common Council appointed shall serve a one year term.

Article III. Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Library Board shall be a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary.

Section 2. The officers shall be elected at the annual meeting in September and take office at the close of that meeting. No officer may serve more than two consecutive terms in a given office.

Section 3. The principal duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings of the Board, authorize calls for special meetings, make appointments, and execute all documents as authorized. The President appoints Board members to committees and such other special duties as may occur, and may be an ex officio voting member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.

Section 4. The Vice President shall discharge the duties of the President in the event of the absence or disability thereof, or of a vacancy in that office, and, in addition, any other duties as designated by the Board.

Section 5. The Secretary shall maintain a true and accurate record of all meetings of the Board, sign bill registers when the Board has approved expenditures, execute all documents as authorized, and perform such other duties as generally associated with the office. In the absence of the Secretary at any meeting, the President may appoint another Board member to act as temporary Secretary.

The Library Director or a staff member may be designated to perform any of the Secretary's duties, except signing bill registers. All records and correspondence, unless otherwise specified by the Board, shall be kept in the Library administrative offices.

Article IV. Meetings
Section 1. Regular meetings shall be held each month, the date and hour to be set by the Board at its annual meeting. Meeting times and dates may be changed as need arises by a majority vote of the Board. Members shall be expected to attend all meetings except as they are prevented by a valid reason.

Section 2. The annual meeting, which shall be for the purpose of electing officers, shall be held at the time of the regular meeting in September of each year.

Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the President at any time deemed advisable, or upon written request to the President by three Board members, for the transaction of business as stated in the call.

Section 4. The Library Director shall send written notice and the agenda of each regular Board meeting to the Board members at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. A copy of the previous Board meeting minutes shall be provided each member prior to the meeting date.

Section 5. A quorum for transaction of business at any meeting shall consist of a simple majority.

Section 6. Robert's Rules of Order, latest edition, shall govern the parliamentary procedure of the Board.

Article V. Committees
Section 1. Appointments by the President shall include a Nominating Committee named at least three months prior to the date of the annual meeting, and committees for Building & Equipment, Finance, Personnel, Planning, Scholarship and Policy.

Section 2. The President shall appoint special committees for such specific purpose as the business of the Board may require. 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 3. The Nominating Committee shall present the slate of officers for election at the annual meeting in September.

Section 4. The Policy Committee shall make recommendations to the Board on proposed revisions in bylaws, policies, rules, and regulations.

Section 5. The Personnel Committee shall make recommendations to the Board on personnel matters. The Personnel Committee shall annually review any proposed salary adjustments for excellence and present their recommendations to the Board. The Personnel Committee shall annually review the performance of the Library Director and work with the President to communicate this review to the Director.

Section 6. The Planning Committee shall make recommendations to the Board on goals and future Library development.

Section 7. The Building & Equipment Committee shall make recommendations to the Board on matters of building and equipment.

Section 8. The Scholarship Committee shall annually recommend to the Board awards for the Frank P. Young scholarship.

Section 9. The Finance Committee shall make recommendations to the Board on the annual budget and other financial concerns. The Common Council representative on the Library Board shall serve on the Finance Committee.

Article VI. Duties of the Board

Section 1. The Board shall determine the policies, plans and services of the Library. This includes bylaws, service policies, mission statement, long range plan, significant changes in levels or types of service, and changes in library hours.

Section 2. The Board shall select and appoint a qualified Library Director.

Section 3. The Board shall advise in the preparation of the budget, approve it, make sure that adequate funds are provided to finance the approved budget and approve all bill registers.

Section 4. The Board shall cooperate with other public officials and boards and maintain vital public relations. The Board represents the Library to the community and the community to the Library.

Article VII. Duties of the Library Director

Section 1. The Library Director shall be the executive and administrative officer of the Library under the review and direction of the Board.

Section 2. The Director shall be responsible for: appointment and specifying duties and compensation of other employees; proper direction, training and supervision of the staff; serving as technical advisor to the Board, recommending policies, budget, changes in hours or services; recommending changes in the Mission and Long Range Plan; operating within policies as approved by the Board; care and maintenance of library property; adequate and proper selection of materials; efficiency of library service to the public; financial operations and management of the budgeted appropriation and such other funds as may accrue to the Library.

Section 3. The Director shall attend all Board meetings as a participant, but shall have no vote. The Director may designate another staff member to attend in the event of the Director's absence.

Article VIII. General

Section 1. An affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the Board present at any legally constituted meeting shall be necessary to approve any action before the Board. The President may vote upon and may move or second a proposal before the Board.

Section 2. These bylaws may be amended by the majority vote of all members of the Board provided that the change had been proposed by a Board member or the Library Director at the preceding regular meeting, and that notice of the proposed amendment was included as a separate statement in the agenda of the meeting at which it is to be acted upon.

Section 3. Any rule or resolution of the Board, whether contained in these bylaws or otherwise, may be suspended temporarily in connection with business at hand, but such suspension, to be valid, may be taken only at a meeting at which two thirds of the members of the Board shall be present and two thirds of those present shall so approve.

Section 4. In carrying out its duties the Board shall act as a whole. No individual member or committee shall have power to act or speak for the Board except as specifically delegated by the Board.

adopted June 9, 1997; revised October 14, 2004

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