ARTICLE 1: MEMBERS
SECTION 1: In accordance with Article 14, Chapter 153A of the General Statutes of the State of North Carolina, the Board of Commissioners of Durham County do hereby appoint a Library Board of Trustees for the Durham County Library. Said Board of Trustees shall consist of nine persons. All terms shall be for three years.
SECTION II: In the event of a vacancy on the Board, the vacancy shall be filled by the County Commissioners for the unexpired term of the member creating the vacancy.
SECTION III: The position of a board member who has been absent from three consecutive regular meetings shall be considered vacant, unless the Chair, after consultation with the Vice-Chair, shall find good cause for any of the absences and excuse them. Regardless of whether the absences are excused, the position of any board member missing 50% of the regular meetings during a fiscal year shall be considered vacant unless the Board shall vote to excuse any of the absences and petition the Board of County Commissioners for a waiver of its attendance policy.”
SECTION IV: The same person may not serve more than three consecutive terms, An appointment to fill an unexpired term of one year or more shall be considered one term and said appointee can be appointed for only two additional terms.
ARTICLE II: MEETINGS
SECTION I: The Library Board will hold it regular meeting on a monthly basis according to a calendar set at the annual meeting of the Board
SECTION II: The annual meeting shall be held at the first regular meeting of each fiscal year in the Board Room of the Main Library.
SECTION III: Special meetings may be called by the Chairman, or upon written request of the four members of the Board, for the transaction of business stated in the request.
SECTION IV: Notices of all meetings including an agenda and documentation shall be made by the Library Director to all members at least three business days in advance.
SECTION V: A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of a majority of members.
ARTICLE Ill: OFFICERS
SECTION 1: The officers of the Board of Trustees shall be a chairman and vice chairman.
SECTION II: Officers shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Board and shall serve for one year.
The Chairman of the Board shall preside at all meetings and shall have the usual powers of a presiding officer. The Chairman of the Board shall notify the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of any vacancies on the Board.
The Vice Chairman of the Board shall act as chairman in the absence or disability of the Chairman
SECTION III: The Director of Libraries shall issue notices of all meetings of the Board and delegate a library staff member to take minutes. Minutes will be subject to final approval by vote of the Board and will be maintained with other Board records by the Director. The Director of the Libraries shall be an ex officio member of the Board and shall not have a vote; nor will the staff member appointed to take minutes have a vote.
ARTICLE IV: COMMITTEES
The Chairman shall appoint any committee deemed necessary.
The Chairman may decide upon the number of persons to be appointed to a committee and designate the purpose of the committee. The committee may be dissolved upon the completion of its task or at the pleasure of the Board. Vacancies on committees may be filled by the Chairman at any time.
ARTICLE V: DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES
The duties and responsibilities of the Trustees shall consist of conscientiously carrying out the powers herein given them:
1. To review and make recommendations to the Director of Libraries, County Manager, or Board of County Commissioners, as appropriate, on proposed library programs, policies, and regulations for the government of the Library;
2. To make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners concerning the construction and improvement of buildings and other structures for the library system;
3. To advise the County Manager regarding the appointment of the Director of Libraries;
4. To participate in preparing the annual budget of the library system;
5. To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners a schedule of fines and charges for late return of, failure to return, damage to, and loss of library materials, and to take other measures to protect and regulate the use of such materials;
6. To otherwise advise the Board of Commissioners on Library matters. The Board shall make an annual report on the operations of the library to the governing body and shall make an annual report to the Department of Cultural Resources as required by G.S. 125‑5.
ARTICLE VI: LIBRARY DIRECTOR
The Director of Libraries shall be the executive officer of the library system and shall have general supervision and responsibility of the libraries under the direction of the Board of Commissioners through the County Manager and reviewed by the Board of Trustees.
The Director of Libraries with the advice and counsel of the Board of Trustees shall be responsible for the physical plants and equipment, for the employment and direction of the staff for the library service to the public, and for the operation of the libraries under the financial conditions set forth in the library budget.
The Director of Libraries shall attend all board meetings.
ARTICLE VII: ORDER OF BUSINESS
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the proceedings of the Board.
The order of business at the regular meetings shall be as follows:
1. Roll call
2. Approval of minutes of previous meeting
3. Communications
4. Financial report
5. Report of committees
6. Old business
7. New business
8. Directors report
9. Election of officers when necessary
10. Adjournment
ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS
These by‑laws may be amended at any regular or special meeting of the Board with a quorum present, by the majority vote of the members present, provided a copy of the proposed amendments shall have been sent to each member at least two weeks before the meeting at which they are to be considered for adoption or submitted in writing and read at the Board meeting preceding the one at which the amendment is to be considered for adoption.
Subsequent to the acceptance by the Board of any modification, addition, or deletion from the bylaws, formal approval of said action must be obtained from the Board of County Commissioners of Durham County prior to its being entered into such by‑laws.
By‑Laws adopted July 21, 1975; amended November 4, 1982, April 28,1986, November 26, 1990, June 8, 1998, September 14, 1998, and May 13, 2002 by the Durham County Board of Commissioners.
Durham County Library Board of Trustees
By‑Law Amendments
November 4,1982:
Article I, Section III: The words "without adequate excuse" added after "absent"; the word "regular" added after "consecutive". Article I, Section IV: The words "of one year or more" added after the words "unexpired term".
Article II Section I: The regular days of meetings were listed as the fourth Monday in July, September, November, January, March, and May.
Article II, Section II: The annual meeting was established as the fourth Monday in July, and the place of the meeting listed as "die Board Room of the Main Library".
Article III. Section I: The officer of "secretary" was dropped.
Article III, Section III: The sentence, "The Director of Libraries shall serve as secretary, but shall not have a vote" was added at the beginning of the section, and the last sentence "It is suggested that the Director of Libraries serve as secretary, but shall not have a vote" was dropped.
Article V. number 2: Added "establishing policies regulating library operating procedures".
Article V, number 5: Added "and policies" after the word "budget".
Article VII: Added "financial report" after "communications" and moved "director's report" to follow "new business."
April 28, 1986:
Article I, Section IV was changed to permit a Board member to serve three consecutive terms, rather than two.
November 26,1990:
Article II Section I was changed to permit the Board to set a calendar of bi‑monthly meetings for the year at the annual meeting of the Board. The change eliminated reference to specific months in which the Board would meet and the specified day of annual meeting.
June 8, 1998:
Article I, Section I: Changed the number of members of the Board from seven to nine.
Article V: Added #6: "To present a report at least annually to the Durham County Board of Commissioners on library accomplishments and plans."
September 14, 1998:
Article II, Section V: Changed the size of a quorum from four to "a majority of members."
May 13, 2002:
Article I, Section III: Elliminated "without adequate excuse" following "absent."
Article II, Section IV: Added "and documentation" following "agenda;" changed "Secretary" to 'library Director" and added
"business" after "three."
Article III. Section I: Added "and secretary" after "vice chairman."
Article III, Section II: Added as second sentence of second paragraph: "The Chairman of the Board shall notify the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of any vacancies on the Board." Deleted "The Director of Libraries shall serve as secretary, but shall not have a vote." from fourth paragraph.
Add Section III to Article III: The Director of Libraries shall issue notices of all meetings of the Board and have custody of the
minutes and other records of the Board. The Director shall be an ex officio member of the Board and shall not have a vote."
Article V: The duties and responsibilities were revised to read as follows:
1. To review and make recommendations to the Director of Libraries, County Manager, or Board of County Commissioners, as appropriate, on proposed library programs, policies, and regulations for the government of the Library;
2. To make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners concerning the construction and improvement of buildings and other structures for the library system;
3. To advise the County Manager regarding the appointment of the Director of Libraries;
4. To participate in preparing the annual budget of the library system;
5. To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners a schedule of fines and charges for late return of, failure to return, damage to, and loss of library materials, and to take other measures to protect and regulate the use of such materials;
6. To otherwise advise the Board of Commissioners on Library matters. The Board shall make an annual report on the operations of the library to the governing body and shall make an annual report to the Department of Cultural Resources as required by G.S. 125‑5.
Article VII: The sentence "Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the proceedings of the Board" was moved to proceed the order of business.
March 26, 2007:
Article II, Section I: Replaced “The regular meeting of the Library Board shall be held bi-monthly according to a calendar set at the annual meeting of the Board.” with “The Library Board will hold it regular meeting on a monthly basis according to a calendar set at the annual meeting of the Board.”
Article III, Section I: Deleted “and secretary” at the end of the sentence.
Article III, Section II: Deleted final sentence, “The Secretary shall keep a true and accurate account of all proceedings of the board meetings.”
Article III, Section III: Replaced “The Director of Libraries shall issue notices of all meeting of the Board and have custody of the minutes and other records of the Board; The Director of Libraries shall be an ex officio member of the Board and shall not have a vote.” with The Director of Libraries shall issue notices of all meetings of the Board and delegate a library staff member to take minutes. Minutes will be subject to final approval by vote of the Board and will be maintained with other Board records by the Director. The Director of the Libraries shall be an ex officio member of the Board and shall not have a vote; nor will the staff member appointed to take minutes have a vote.
August 27, 2007:
Article I, Section III: Replaced “The position of a board member who has been absent from three consecutive regular meetings shall be considered vacant.” With “The position of a board member who has been absent from three consecutive regular meetings shall be considered vacant, unless the Chair, after consultation with the Vice-Chair, shall find good cause for any of the absences and excuse them. Regardless of whether the absences are excused, the position of any board member missing 50% of the regular meetings during a fiscal year shall be considered vacant unless the Board shall vote to excuse any of the absences and petition the Board of County Commissioners for a waiver of its attendance policy.”
Article II, Section V: Deleted “j” that appears after the end of the sentence “A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of a majority of members.”
Article V: Changed #1 by replacing “To formulate and adopt library programs and regulations for the government of the Library” with “To review and make recommendations to the Director of Libraries, County Manager, or Board of County Commissioners, as appropriate, on proposed library programs, policies, and regulations for the government of the Library.”