This organization shall be called the “Board of Trustees of the Schiller Park Public Library”. The Schiller Park Public Library is established and conducted as a village library in accordance with the Local Library Act, which is codified in 75 ILCS, and the Open Meetings Act. The Library is established for the use and benefit of its eligible users, exercising powers and authority and assuming the responsibilities delegated to it under the said statute. Unless indicated to the contrary, where reference is made to state statutes, these bylaws merely repeat the requirements of the statute for reference, and it is the intent of this Board that any future amendments to state statutes are incorporated herein by present reference to such statues. All statuary references are 75 ILCS unless indicated to the contrary.
The mission of the Schiller Park Public Library is to provide collections and services to meet the informational, leisure, cultural and intellectual needs of the community.
The Board of Trustees of the Schiller Park Public Library shall consist of seven members.
Board members shall be elected by the eligible voters of the Village of Schiller Park in accordance with general election law referenced in 75 ILCS.
Requirements for candidates for library trustee shall be: A qualified elector/registered voter, a resident of Schiller Park, U.S. Citizenship, 18 years of age or older, and no felony convictions. Each Trustee shall file a Statement of Economic Interest with the Cook County Clerk by April 30th of each year.
Board members shall serve a term of six years. Trustees are elected biennially. All terms shall begin on May 1 following the month of election.
The Board may declare a vacancy in conformance with 75 ILCS 5/4-4 when the elected or appointed Trustee declines or is unable to serve; or becomes a nonresident of the Village; or is absent from Board meetings for a period of one calendar year. A vacancy is also declared when the Trustee is convicted of a misdemeanor by failing, neglecting or refusing to discharge any duty imposed upon him by law, or who shall have failed to pay the Library tax levied by the Village. A vacancy in any office shall be filled by appointment by the remaining Trustees until the next annual Village election, at which time a Trustee shall be elected to fill the unexpired term of the vacancy.
Trustees shall serve without compensation. Reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of duties shall be subject to Board approval.
No Trustee shall engage in any business or transaction, or have a financial or personal interest, whether directly or indirectly, that is incompatible with the proper discharge of his or her official duties in the public interest or that may tend to impair his or her official duties in the public interest or that may tend to impair his or her independence of judgment or action in the performance of such official duties. In particular, members of the Board of Trustees may not be employed by the Library. Relatives of the Library Director and Library Board of Trustees may not be hired. However, if an employee’s relative successfully wins candidacy for the Library Board the employee will retain her/his job.
The officers of the Board shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer elected from among the Board members.
The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
President: The President of the Board shall preside at all meetings of the Board, and shall appoint such committees as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Board. In the President’s absence the Vice President or in the Vice President’s absence, the Secretary, and in the Secretary’s absence, the Treasurer, shall preside.
Vice President: The Vice President, in the temporary absence of the President, shall preside over meetings.
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Officers shall be elected at the first meeting of the month following the biennial election of Trustees, by Trustees present. Each term of office shall be for two years, or until a successor has been elected by the Board. A vacancy in an office shall be filled by a vote of the Board, and the Trustee elected shall serve for the remainder of the term of the officer he or she replaces.
Members of the Board shall be asked to serve as officers. Nominations for officers shall be from the floor at the Board meeting at which the election of the officers will occur. Voting will be by voice vote.
One signature, by one of the officers shall be required on all checks. The Treasurer and the President will be the principal contacts regarding financial matters.
Committees shall be appointed by the Board President for specific purposes as the business of the Board may require. Terms of service on committees shall be until the meeting following the Annual Meeting in which appointments are made or until the committee is disbanded. Each committee shall be comprised of a chairperson and at least one additional Trustee.
All committees shall make a progress report to the Board after each of its meetings.
The Board shall meet on a regular basis but not less than ten times per year. The time, day, date, and place of all regular meetings shall be established annually by the Board. A list of meetings shall be posted in the Library, Library’s website, Village Hall and supplied to any medium that has filed an annual request for such notices.
Special meetings shall be called by the President or the Secretary, or by a quorum of the Trustees of the Board. No Special Meeting shall be held unless written notice of the time and place thereof shall be given to all Trustees at least 24 hours in advance of the said Special Meeting, or by oral notice in the case of a stated emergency. Notice shall be posted in the Library at Village Hall and on the Library’s website no later than one day preceding the Special Meeting and supplied to a medium that has filed an annual request for such notices.
The Annual Business Meeting is held on the first regular meeting date following the election of new Trustees. At this meeting officers are elected and committees are established .In off-election years, the Annual Business Meeting is held on the date of the regular May meeting.
All Board Meetings shall be open to the public and comply with the Open Meetings Act. (5 ILCS 120/2.05)
The Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2.05) (the “Act”) provides that “… any person may record the proceedings at meetings required to be open by this Act by tape, film or other means”; and at the start of any meeting which is to be recorded, the President of the Board of Library Trustees shall notify the audience and any witness of the recording and advise all witnesses of their right to refuse to testify during any recording. The President of the Board of Library Trustees shall order the immediate termination of any recording which is disruptive to the meeting, or which distracts, disturbs or is offensive to members of the public body, witnesses, or the audience.
All meetings of the Board and its committees shall be open to the public except closed sessions as authorized by the Open Meeting Act (5 ILCS 120/2). No final action may be taken in closed session. All proceedings of a closed session shall be kept in strict confidence by all those in attendance.
Attendance at executive sessions of the Board shall be limited to the Board of Trustees and others specially invited by President with the concurrence of the Board to attend for specific reasons. The Board of Trustees may hold a meeting closed to the public or close a portion of a meeting to the public upon a majority vote of a quorum present. The vote of each member on the question of holding a meeting closed to the public and a citation to the specific exception contained on Section 2 of the Act which authorizes the closing of the meeting to the public shall be publicly disclosed at the time of vote and shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the meeting (5 ILCS 120/1-120/6).
Closed sessions shall be recorded and such recordings shall be preserved for at least eighteen months. Under the Open Meetings Act, the minutes of all closed sessions will be reviewed by the Board at their regular January and June meetings as to whether or not the minutes should remain sealed or can be publicly disclosed ( 5 ILCS 120/2.06)
A quorum of four Trustees is required for the transaction of business at Board Meetings. A simple majority of those present shall determine the vote taken on any question, unless a larger majority is specified by law.
Under limited circumstances, Trustees unable to be physically present at a board or committee meeting may participate via audio and/or video devices which allow all Trustees and other meeting participants to interact on all motions, discussions and votes. The limited circumstances which allow for remote access are personal illness or disability, employment purposes, or family emergency. The reason for remote participation shall be announced at the start of the meeting and shall be noted in the minutes. Only Trustees present shall be counting toward establishing a quorum and allowed to vote.
A motion is not made before the Board until it has been seconded. A motion may be withdrawn by the proposer at any time before a vote is called. An amendment to modify an original motion shall be in order, but no amendment shall be made that changes the intent of the original motion. A simple majority of votes from the members present vote “aye” or “nay” shall be necessary to carry a motion, unless otherwise provided by statute or bylaw. If a Trustee has a conflict of interest, that Trustee shall not participate in the deliberation of nor vote on the matter. All votes on any question shall be by ayes and nays. The number of aye and nay votes and the number of absences and abstentions shall be recorded by the Secretary. The President or presiding officer may vote upon but may not move or second proposal. A “present” vote shall not be counted.
The Order of Business of all regular meetings of the Board shall be as follows:
The President approves the agenda and may revise the order of the agenda as needed.
The conduct of the meetings shall be guided by the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order to the extent practicable.
Library Trustees are encouraged to attend professional meetings and shall be reimbursed from Library Funds for necessary expenses incurred in performance of their duties. The Library’s annual budget provides funds for certain professional activities and travel expenses. Participation may be limited by budget allocations and trustees may only receive reimbursement for one out of state professional activity every five years. All planned expenditures are to be approved in advance by motion at a regularly scheduled board meeting.
Reimbursable Expenses: Subject to the availability of funds budgeted each fiscal year, the following expenses related to professional activities and travel on library business will be reimbursed.
Transportation: Library trustees will be reimbursed at the current IRS rate when using a private automobile to attend meetings or engage in other Library business.
Parking and Tolls: All parking and toll charges incurred while traveling on authorized Library business or attending professional meetings will be reimbursed. Trustees must obtain receipts.
Registration Fees: Fees required for attendance at Library conferences and workshops or other related meetings will be paid in full by the Library.
Membership Fees: Dues will be paid for membership in professional associations: American Library Association and Illinois Library Association for the Board of Trustees.
Meals/Rooms: When a conference, meeting or workshop includes a meal as part of the program, the Library will reimburse trustees for that expense. When engaged in other authorized Library activities which do not include a meal as part of the program but, which because of the scheduling of the program, requires that a trustee eat out, the trustee will be reimbursed by the Library. Conferences and Travel which require meal/overnight lodging will be reimbursed by the Library provided that receipts are presented along with request for reimbursement. Daily reimbursement for meals shall not exceed $ 60.00 per day.
Reimbursement: Payment for reimbursement expenses will be by check after the Board meeting closest to the time when the expense report with supporting receipts attached for expenses incurred were turned in to the Library Director. Minor reimbursements (under $10.00) may be made from petty cash. In order to avoid personal hardship, major expenses involving long-distance travel, etc., may be calculated and paid in advance with the understanding that is the advance exceeds the actual authorized expenses, the employee will refund the excess amount within 30 days of the scheduled return date.
Travel between the Schiller Park Public Library and home are not reimbursable. Most travel should begin from the Schiller Park Public Library. However, in some instances it may be advantageous for reasons of time and distance to leave from the employee’s place of residence.
Common carrier transportation should be utilized for long trips. A trustee utilizing their personal vehicle for a trip shall receive either the common carrier airfare or the mileage, whichever is the lesser amount.
A trustee shall travel coach or economy class and shall stay and eat in moderately priced establishments while traveling on library business. Reasonable tips, paid by the trustee and noted on receipt will be reimbursed.
The Board shall appoint a qualified Library Director who shall be the executive and administrative officer of the Library on behalf of the Board and under its review and direction. The Library Director shall be responsible for the care of the building and equipment, for employment, direction, removal of staff member, for recommendations to the Board of such policies and procedures as, in the opinion of the Director, will promote the efficiency of the Library and its service to the people of the community; and for the submission to this Board monthly and annual reports. The Library Director is responsible for the financial operation of the Library within the limitations of the budgeted appropriation and serves as an ex-officio member on all committees.
The Board and the Library Director will establish goals for the Library Director. The Board President and Library Director evaluate annually the progression towards achieving the goals.
To the fullest extent possible, and to the extent not covered by insurance, the Library shall indemnify any Trustee, Officer, or employee and the Library may indemnify any agent who is, was, or is threatened to be a party to any future, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigate, and including actions or suits by or in the Right of the Library, by reason of the fact that he/she is or was a Trustee, Officer, employee or agent of the Library. At the request of such indemnified person, the Library shall undertake complete defense of such matters, including all expenses in connection therewith; provided that the indemnified party shall have a right to participate in such defense. The indemnification set forth shall not apply if a Court of Competent Jurisdiction determines that the conduct of the indemnified party constitutes malicious or criminal misconduct. The Library may purchase and maintain insurance, in an amount from time to time to be determined by the Board of Trustees, and for the broadest coverage procurable, on behalf of such Trustees, Officers, employees and agents against any liability asserted against one or more of them and incurred by him/her or them in any such capacity or arising out of his/her or their status as such. The provisions of this Section shall continue for the benefit of a person who has ceased to be a Director, Officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the estates, heirs, legatees and legal representatives of such a person and the legal representatives and assigns of such a person in the event of his/her incompetency, insolvency or bankruptcy.
These By-laws may be amended at a regular meeting of the Board, by a majority vote of all Trustees present, provided that such amendment in writing was presented for consideration at a previous meeting and was approved for final action at a specified subsequent meeting.
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