N.Y. Education Law § 260: Trustees

§ 260. Trustees. 1. Public libraries authorized to be established by

action of the voters or their representatives shall be managed by

trustees who shall have all the powers of trustees of other educational

institutions of the university as defined in this chapter; provided that

the number of trustees of county public libraries and Indian libraries

shall not be less than five nor more than fifteen and that the number of

trustees of other public libraries shall not be less than five nor more

than fifteen. The number of trustees of joint public libraries

authorized to be established by two or more municipalities or districts

or any combination thereof shall be not less than five nor more than

twenty-five, as determined by agreement of the voting bodies empowered

to authorize the establishment of such libraries pursuant to subdivision

one of section two hundred fifty-five of this chapter and shall be set

forth in the resolution authorizing the establishment of such joint

public library. Such resolution shall also set forth the number of such

trustees which each of the participating municipalities or districts

shall be entitled to elect or appoint, and the terms of office of the

trustees as determined in accordance with subdivision three of this

section.

2. The trustees of public libraries authorized to be established by

cities shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the common

council, in counties they shall be appointed by the county board of

supervisors or other governing elective body, in villages they shall be

appointed by the village board of trustees, in towns they shall be

appointed by the town board, in school districts they shall be elected

by the legal voters in the same manner as trustees are elected in the

school district which established said library, and on Indian

reservations they shall be elected at a general tribal election or

otherwise designated by the chiefs or head men of an Indian tribe; that

notwithstanding the fact that county, town or local school district

lines do not penetrate the reservation boundary, Indians residing on

reservations shall be eligible to serve as trustees of public libraries

established in school districts to the same extent as they are qualified

voters pursuant to subdivision three of section twenty hundred twelve of

this chapter; that the first trustees shall determine by lot the year in

which the term of office of each trustee shall expire and that a new

trustee shall be elected or appointed annually to serve for three or

five years to be determined by the entity establishing the public

library. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision,

in any case where a town is a contributor to the support of any such

public library in a village located within the town the appointment of

trustees of such library who reside outside the village but within such

town shall be subject to the approval of the town board of such town.

The charter of any public library granted prior to April thirtieth,

nineteen hundred twenty-one, which provides for trustees, their terms of

office and method of election or appointment in a manner differing from

that hereinbefore provided, shall remain in full force and effect until

the regents, upon application of the library trustees, shall amend the

charter to conform to the provisions of law in effect when such

amendment is made.

3. The trustees of a joint public library authorized to be established

by two or more municipalities or districts or any combination thereof

shall be appointed or elected by the body authorized by subdivision two

of this section to elect or appoint trustees of public libraries

authorized to be established by such municipality or district. The

number of such trustees to be elected or appointed by each of the

participating municipalities or districts shall be determined as

provided in subdivision one of this section. The term of office of such

trustees shall be three or five years except that the terms of the first

trustees shall be so arranged that the terms of as nearly as possible to

one-third or one-fifth of the members shall expire annually.

4. No person who is a member of any municipal council or board

authorized by this section to appoint public library trustees in any

municipality shall be eligible for the office of such public library

trustee in such municipality.

5. The boards of trustees of public, free association and Indian

libraries shall hold regular meetings at least quarterly, and such

boards shall fix the day and hour for holding such meetings.

6. The board of trustees of a library system or a public or free

association library chartered by the regents of the state of New York

may determine to contribute annually a sum of money to assist the New

York State Association of Library Boards in fostering, encouraging and

promoting the further development of library activities throughout the

state and financing programs in this state which will assist in the

dissemination of information leading to the improvement and extension of

library services.

7. The board of trustees of a public library established and supported

by a school district shall, in addition to powers conferred by this or

any other chapter, be authorized in its discretion to call, give notice

of and conduct a special district meeting for the purpose of electing

library trustees and of submitting initially a resolution in accordance

with the provisions of subdivision one of section two hundred fifty-nine

of this chapter. Such meeting shall be held prior to the first day of

July but subsequent to the first day of April. Should the board of

trustees of the library determine, in its discretion, not to notice and

conduct such a meeting, then the election and budget vote will be

noticed and conducted by the board of education of the school district

as part of its annual meeting.

8. Candidates for the office of trustee of a public library

established and supported by a school district shall be nominated by

petition which shall meet the requirements of subdivision a of section

two thousand eighteen of this chapter, except that such candidates shall

be elected in the manner specified in subdivision b of such section

except that the nominating petition filed pursuant to subdivision a or b

of such section shall be signed by a least twenty-five qualified voters

of the library district, or two percent of the voters who voted in the

last previous annual election of members of the library board of

trustees, whichever is greater. The provisions of this subdivision shall

not apply to a charter granted prior to April thirtieth, nineteen

hundred seventy-one that provides for a different procedure.

9. The board of trustees of a public library established and supported

by a school district, in addition to any other powers conferred by this

chapter, may, in its discretion, call, give notice of and conduct a

special district meeting of the qualified voters of the school district

for any proper library purpose, including the re-submission of a

defeated library appropriation, at a time and place designated by said

board of trustees, except as to those purposes set forth in subdivision

seven of this section.

10. The board of trustees of a public library established and

supported by a school district, in addition to any other powers

conferred in this chapter, shall have the power to determine the

necessity for construction of library facilities, to select a library

site or sites, to select the architect, and to require that the board of

education call, give notice of and conduct a special district meeting in

accordance with the provisions of subdivision nine of this section for

the purpose of designating and acquiring a site or sites and authorizing

the issuance of obligations of the school district for acquisition and

construction of library facilities, or either.

11. Whenever the board of trustees of a public library shall call,

give notice of and conduct a special district meeting under subdivision

seven or nine of this section, such meeting shall be established,

noticed and conducted in the same manner and to the same extent as such

meetings were theretofore established, noticed and conducted by the

board of education of the school district, the board of trustees of the

libraries making all the determinations and taking all action in respect

thereto otherwise required of the board of education of the school

district, except that the meeting need not, in the discretion of the

board of trustees of the library, be held in separate election districts

in those school districts where election districts have been established

by the board of education. The board of registration shall meet as

provided in section two thousand fourteen of this chapter and notice of

the meeting shall be given in accordance with the provisions of sections

two thousand four and two thousand seven of this chapter. The cost of

all such meetings and registrations shall be a charge to the library.

12. The board of trustees of a public, free association or Indian

library which provides public access to the internet shall establish a

policy governing patron use of computer terminals which access the

internet. Verification of such policy shall be included in the annual

report submitted to the department.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the discarding of

used or surplus books or other such reading materials by trustees of a

chartered public, cooperative or free association library which receives

over ten thousand dollars in state aid, such trustees shall offer to

donate such books or materials to a not-for-profit corporation or

political subdivision located within the area of the library system or

offer to sell such books or materials to the general public. The

trustees shall retain any proceeds received from the sale of such books

and materials for the purpose of maintaining and improving library

service within the system.