There is hereby established, pursuant to a favorable referendum
of the legal voters of the Borough of Hawthorne, a free public library
within the corporate limits of said Borough, in accordance with the
provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:54-1 et seq., which free public library
shall be managed by a Board of Trustees, as hereinafter set forth,
or as the statutes of New Jersey may hereafter from time to time provide.
Said Board of Trustees shall be a body corporate under the name
of "The Trustees of the Free Public Library of the Borough of Hawthorne."
[Amended 6-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2017-10; 11-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2217-18]
Said Board of Trustees shall consist of nine members, one of
whom shall be the Mayor, another the local Superintendent of Schools
and seven appointed by the Mayor, at least four of whom shall be residents
of the Borough of Hawthorne. The appointment of the initial Board
shall be for terms of one, two, three, four and five years, respectively,
as they may be selected by the Mayor, with the consent of the Municipal
Council. Thereafter, all appointments to the Board shall be for a
term of five years, or in the case of a vacancy, to serve the unexpired
term of the Trustee being replaced, with the advice and consent of
the Municipal Council.
Such Beard of Trustees shall hold in trust and manage all property
of the library; it may rent rooms or, when proper, construct buildings
for the use of the library; purchase books, pamphlets, documents,
papers and other reading matter; hire librarians and other necessary
personnel, and fix their compensation; make proper rules and regulations
for the government of the library, and generally do all things necessary
and proper for the establishment and maintenance of the free public
library in the Borough of Hawthorne. Such Board may also transfer
to and receive from the deposit and exchange library service of the
Bureau of Public and School Library Services, of the Division of the
State Library, Archives and History, in the State Department of Education,
books, magazine, prints, maps and other related library materials
for the purpose of augmenting the interlibrary loan service.
Such Board of Trustees may receive, hold and manage any devise,
bequest or donation heretofore made or hereafter to be made and given
for the establishment, increase or maintenance of a free public library
within the Borough of Hawthorne, and may accept gifts and bequests
of paintings, statuary, ceramics and other art objects, and may care
for and maintain them in accordance with the provisions of such gift
or bequest.
There shall annually be appropriated and raised by taxation
for library purposes a sum equal to 1/3 of a mill on every dollar
of assessable property within the Borough of Hawthorne, or such sum
as the statutes of New Jersey may from time to time provide. An additional
sum, as in the judgement of the governing body of the Borough of Hawthorne
is necessary for the proper maintenance of a free public library,
may be appropriated and raised by taxation annually.