•Directors and trustees/commissioners of municipal, joint and county libraries MUST keep informed and follow all pertinent laws
•Directors and trustees of association libraries should know and follow laws such as open public records, open public meeting and purchasing/disposing law as much as practicable as a best practice.
61% of population is Municipality
35% of population is County.
3% of population is an Association
1% of population is joint.
General Local Government Agency Requirements
Funding may only be raised as permitted by law
•Any funding, including gifts, must be spent according to the law
•Anything purchased with government funds or received as a donation is government property and may only be disposed of according to law
•Record retention, including electronic records, must be maintained according to law
Funding Process
•Plan of service is developed and updated annually; include nonusers as well as users in research
•Using the plan and input from staff, director develops the draft budget for the trustees’ budget committee
•Budget committee reviews and presents to full board
•Full board approves and delegates someone (often board president) to present to local government
•For municipal and county libraries if tax dollars above the legislated minimum need to be raised to support the budget, local government approves total amount (not individual lines)
•Depending on local custom, local government officials may act as consultants as the budget is built
Establishment of Public Libraries
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries
•Municipal and joint municipal libraries are established by referendum (NJSA 40:54-2, municipal; NJSA 40:54-29.6, joint municipal)
40:54-2. Referendum No such library shall be established in any municipality unless assented to by a majority of the legal voters of the municipality, at an election, general or special, at which the question of the adoption of this article shall be submitted to vote by direction of the governing body.
Municipal & Joint Municipal Library Board Membership
•The mayor or other chief executive officer of the municipality, and the superintendent of schools are ex officio members and vote. An ex-officio member is a member of a board, committee, council or other body that receives a position on that body solely because of holding another office.
•All appointments are for a term of 5 years, except in the case of appointments to fill vacancies occurring other than by expiration of term, in which case the appointment is for the unexpired term only (NJSA 40:54-10)
Governing Board:
Board of trustees composed of the mayor or the mayor's alternate, the superintendent of schools or the superintendent's alternate, and five to seven citizens appointed by the mayor.
Board Vacancies
•A board vacancy occurs upon a member’s written resignation; physical or mental incapacitation; death; violation of lawful residency requirement (at least 4 must be residents); failure to attend and participate at meetings for a period of 8 consecutive weeks, or for four consecutive regular meetings, whichever shall be of longer duration (unless due to legitimate illness); removal for cause in accordance with the law. (See NJSA 40A:9-12.1)
Powers of Municipal and Joint Library Boards
•The board shall hold in trust and manage all property of the library (NJSA 40:54-12)
•It may rent rooms (for the use of the library), construct buildings for the use of the library, purchase books, hire staff, fix their compensation, make rules and regulations for the government of the library, and do all things necessary for the maintenance of the free public library
•If the municipality participates in the NJ Civil Service system, the library board registers as the appointing authority and appoints someone (usually the director) to act on its behalf.
Funding by Property Taxes
•Minimum support for municipal and municipal joint libraries is 1/3 mill (about $33.33 per $100,000) on equalized evaluation (NJSA 40:54-8); over half of the libraries are funded above this amount
Other Funding & Support Sources
•Fines, photocopy fees, interest
•Grants, gifts
•Friends group for ongoing support; foundation for large projects or endowment
•National Endowment for the Humanities, NJ Historical Commission, National Endowment for the Arts (Big Reads), IMLS Sparks! Ignition, etc.
•Interlocal services agreements may help expand service at reduced cost
County Library Systems
•County library systems are established by referendum with two exceptions (NJSA 40:33-2, general, 12 county libraries; NJSA 40:33-5.1, Cumberland; NJSA 40:33-15 Morris)
County Library Commission
•There are generally five members
•There may be up to seven members if there is (or was) a circumstance such that fewer than three of the five members are/were residents of municipalities supporting the county library system
•At least 3 members of a five-member board and 4 members of a seven-member board must be residents of municipalities supporting the county library system (citizenship does not appear to be a requirement)
Governing Board:
Freeholders appoints a five to seven person county library commission; Atlantic and Mercer under the authority of the county executive; Sussex and Morris operate as divisions of the county.
Board Vacancies
•A board vacancy occurs upon a member’s written resignation; physical or mental incapacitation; death; violation of lawful residency requirement (at least 4 must be residents); failure to attend and participate at meetings for a period of 8 consecutive weeks, or for four consecutive regular meetings, whichever shall be of longer duration (unless due to legitimate illness); removal for cause in accordance with the law. (See NJSA 40A:9-12.1
Powers of the County Library Commission
•The county library commission shall organize by the election of a chairman, and shall adopt rules and regulations for the establishment and maintenance of the county library
•It may hire staff, purchase such supplies and equipment and incur such expenses as it may deem necessary, accept gifts, devises, legacies and bequests of property, real and personal, and hold and use the property and income of the same in any manner, which is lawful and consistent with the purpose for which the commission is created
•If the county participates in the NJ Civil Service system, the library board registers as the appointing authority and appoints someone (usually the director) to act on its behalf
Funding by Property Taxes
•Minimum support for county libraries is 1/15 mill (about $6.66 per $100,000) on the "apportionment valuation" (NJSA 40:33-9); all county libraries are funded above this amount
Other Funding & Support Sources
•Fines, photocopy fees, interest
•Grants, gifts
•Friends group for ongoing support; foundation for large projects or endowment
•National Endowment for the Humanities, NJ Historical Commission, National Endowment for the Arts (Big Reads), IMLS Sparks! Ignition, etc.
•Interlocal services agreements may help expand service at reduced cost
Association Libraries
•Association libraries are established according to the Nonprofit Corporation Act (NJSA 15A:1-1) and become public by agreeing to accept public funds and serve the public (NJSA 40:54-35)
Governing Board:
No less than 3 trustees selected by association members; terms according to bylaws.
Board Vacancies
•A board vacancy occurs upon a member’s written resignation; physical or mental incapacitation; death; violation of lawful residency requirement (at least 4 must be residents); failure to attend and participate at meetings for a period of 8 consecutive weeks, or for four consecutive regular meetings, whichever shall be of longer duration (unless due to legitimate illness); removal for cause in accordance with the law. (See NJSA 40A:9-12.1)
•Check to see if your municipality has passed a resolution lowering the requirement to 6 or 7 consecutive weeks and/or 3 consecutive regular meetings.
Funding by Property Taxes
•Association libraries are funded by the municipality at the municipality’s discretion
Other Funding & Support Sources
•Fines, photocopy fees, interest
•Grants, gifts
•Friends group for ongoing support; foundation for large projects or endowment
•National Endowment for the Humanities, NJ Historical Commission, National Endowment for the Arts (Big Reads), IMLS Sparks! Ignition, etc.
•Interlocal services agreements may help expand service at reduced cost
Reference:
Rosch, V., and Patricia Tumulty. (n.d.). Library Structure and funding. Retrieved from https://www.njstatelib.org/services_for_libraries/resources/library_law/
Resources:
•Full text of laws covering each type of public library (Part 1), State Aid (Part 4), Library Employees (Part 5), Purchasing (Part 6) and more at http://lss.njstatelib.org/library_law
•Printable Statutes and Regulations covering the establishment, operation and funding grouped by type of library at http://lss.njstatelib.org/director_resources
•Library Director Resources at http://lss.njstatelib.org/director_resources
•Library Trustee Resources at http://lss.njstatelib.org/trustees
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