Trustee Manual: Legal Responsibilities
Chapter 2 Legal Responsibilities | Next Chapter | Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | PDF
Statutory Powers | Specially for City Library Board Members | Specially for County Library Board Members | Liability Protection | Open Meetings | Library Laws
County and city library boards have similar roles, but there are subtle differences in their legal standing. Following is a comparison of the roles of the two groups as outlined in the Utah Code. For information on managing library board appointments and terms of service, see Appendix A - Library Board Terms in this manual.
City Library Board Duties |
County Library Board Duties |
With the approval of city government,
|
With the approval of the county executive and in accordance with county ordinances, policies, and procedures,
|
The Board will maintain and care for the library and establish policies for its operation.
|
The Board has the powers and duties given to it by county ordinance, including the establishment of policies for collections and information resources. |
The Board will make, amend, and revoke rules for the governing of the library. |
The Board will make rules, "consistent with county ordinances, policies, and procedures for the governing of the library." |
The Board will make an annual report to the city government on the condition and operation of the library. |
The Board will make an annual report to the county executive and the county legislative body on the condition and operation of the library, including a financial statement. |
| The Board will appoint a library director who will be "executive officer" for the Board. The Board will appoint other personnel upon the recommendation of the library director. | The Board will recommend to the county executive a person to serve as library director, who will be "executive officer" for the Board. The Library Director will hire library personnel in accordance with County merit system. |
The Board will control donations to the library and act as the trustees of the donation if in the form of property. |
Donations are made to the county government, "designated for the benefit and purposes of the library." |
Specially for City Library Board Members
As a city library board member, you have been chosen by your city governing body. Your board will have between 5 and 9 members who live in the city jurisdiction, are capable individuals, and are interested in good library service. Local laws may stipulate that the mayor and/or city council choose board members based upon formulas designed to ensure geographic, ethnic, or income diversity. There will likely be a member of the City Council on your Board. His / Her roles include bringing the city's political agenda to the table, ensuring that the Board is following local laws, and contributing effort and expertise to improve library service as a fellow board member.
You will not be paid for your service, except that expenses incurred doing board assignments may be reimbursed from library funds. You will be asked to serve for at least 3 years (1 term) and no more than 6 consecutive years. You and the other board members will select a chairman and any other offices you agree to every year. The mayor and / or city council can remove you if you are guilty of misconduct or if you neglect your Board assignment.
As a city library board member, you are part of a group that, within the constraints set by your city government, has the power to:
- decide how to spend library dollars for library buildings, maintenance, land purchase, and operation; your board is the caretaker of the library and its assets for the people of your city;
- accept and control donations made for the benefit of the library;
- establish policies for the library; you will decide the future direction of your library and how it serves its public, including the establishment of rules for patron behavior and access; and
- appoint a Library Director* and decide what he / she will do and how much money he / she will be paid; the library director is the executive officer for your board and will manage the day-to-day operations of the library.
* In the majority of towns and cities in Utah, hiring and salary administration is a function of the municipal personnel system. Usually, the library board recommends a candidate and local government "appoints" the employee.
Specially for County Library Board Members
As a county library board member, you have been chosen by your county governing body. Your board will have between 5 and 9 members who live in the county and are interested in good library service. Local laws may stipulate that the mayor and / or county council choose board members based upon formulas designed to ensure geographic, ethnic, or income diversity. There will be a member of the County Commission on your Board. His / Her roles include bringing the county’s political agenda to the table, ensuring that the Board is following local laws, and contributing effort and expertise to improve library service as a fellow board member. You will not be paid for your service, except that expenses incurred doing board assignments may be reimbursed from library funds.
You will be asked to serve for at least 4 years (1 term) and no more than 8 consecutive years. You and the other board members will select a chairman and any other offices you agree to every year.
The County Executive can remove you if you are guilty of misconduct or if you neglect your Board assignment.
As a county library board member, you are part of a group that, within the constraints set by county laws, has the power to:
- decide how to spend library dollars for library buildings, maintenance, land purchase, and operation; your board is the caretaker of the library and its assets for the people of your county;
- establish policies for the library; you will decide the future direction of your library and how it serves its public, including the establishment of rules for patron behavior and access; and
- recommend a Library Director to the County Executive; the library director is the executive officer for your board and will manage the day-to-day operations of the library.
As a legally appointed public officer, you are protected from lawsuits against actions you take in performance of your official duties. Utah Code, 63G-07, The Governmental Immunity Act of Utah, describes the conditions of immunity applicable to government officers and trustees.
All meetings of a public body, such as a library board, must be advertised in public media/forum and open to the public. Utah Code, Title 52–4, Open and Public Meetings, clearly states that meetings concerning the public's business must be conducted openly. Only under certain conditions, such as, discussion of personnel issues, sale of property, or legal actions, may board meetings be closed to the public (UCA 52-4-205). This Statute also imposes a class B misdemeanor penalty for "… a member of a public body who knowingly or intentionally violates or … abets … any of the closed meeting provisions of this chapter … " (UCA 52-4-305). We encourage you to review the Utah Attorney General's Office publication The Open Book: A Handbook on Open Meetings & Open Records in Utah.
Visit the Utah Public Meeting Notice website at http://pmn.utah.gov to resgister, search, and post you library’s meetings.
The State Library maintains an online quick reference guide to Utah Library Laws. It is always advisable for boards to obtain an opinion from their local attorney for correct understanding and interpretation of these laws when applied to a specific situation.
A trustee remembers that:
- the library Board acts only as a whole
- the library Board must authorize an individual to act on behalf of the library
- the Board does not run the day-to-day operations of the library
(Montana Public Library Trustee Handbook)