[Adopted by Bill No. 81-68;[1] amended in its entirety by Bill Nos. 88-84; 97-17]
[1]
Editor's Note: This legislation was included as Ch. 2, Art. XVI, of the 1978 Code.
[Amended by Bill No. 02-21]
The Harford County Public Library Board of Trustees is hereby created as an agency of Harford County, Maryland, pursuant to the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
[Amended by Bill No. 02-21]
A. 
The Board shall consist of:
(1) 
At least 7 members but not more than 11 members appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council;
(2) 
An ex officio, nonvoting member of the County Council, chosen annually by the Council; and
(3) 
An ex officio, nonvoting student representative, chosen annually by the Board in the student's junior year to serve during the senior year, said term to begin in July of each year.
B. 
Except for the student representative, who shall be selected by the Board in accordance with Subsection A of this section, the Board shall recommend to the Executive at least three persons for each Board vacancy. The Executive may, but need not, appoint a person recommended by the Board.
The members of the Board shall be:
A. 
Residents of Harford County.
B. 
Appointed on the basis of character, ability and demonstrated interest in library matters.
C. 
Representative of the areas the library system serves.
[Amended by Bill No. 93-46]
A. 
Except for the student representative, each member of the Board shall serve for a term of five years. At the end of a term, a member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and qualifies. These terms shall be staggered as required by the terms of the members serving on the Board as of July 1, 2002. The student representative shall serve a term of one year and is not eligible for reappointment.
[Amended by Bill No. 02-21]
B. 
A member may be reappointed but may not serve more than two consecutive five-year terms.
C. 
A member appointed to fill a vacancy in an unexpired term shall serve for the remainder of that term and may be reappointed to two full five-year terms.
D. 
A vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the manner of original appointment.
A. 
By July 1 of each year, the Board shall nominate one of its members as Chairperson, subject to appointment by the County Executive and confirmation by the County Council.
B. 
The Board may, without confirmation, elect any other officers it deems necessary.
A. 
(1) 
The Board shall meet at regularly scheduled times at least once each month, except August and December, when it need not meet. The Board may hold special meetings at the call of the Chairperson or two or more members. All Board meetings shall be held in a room that seats at least fifty members of the public. Four members of the Board are a quorum. All Board meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the State Open Meetings Act, and the Board may use the Open Meetings Act Manual published by the Maryland Attorney General to guide it in complying with the law.
(2) 
The Board shall:
(a) 
Except where they conflict with this article, use the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised, for the conduct of its meetings; and
(b) 
Appoint a member or a Board employee as parliamentarian.
(3) 
(a) 
Except as otherwise expressly permitted by the State Open Meetings Act, the Board shall conduct all of its business in open meetings.
(b) 
The student representative shall not attend any closed meeting.
(4) 
(a) 
The Board shall keep minutes of its meetings in accordance with the State Open Meetings Act.
(b) 
All voting, except in procedural motions, shall be by roll call, and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in the minutes.
(c) 
At least seven calendar days before the next regular Board meeting, the Board shall send copies of the minutes of its previous meeting to the Director of Administration, the Administrator of the County Council and the County Attorney.
(5) 
The agenda for each regular Board meeting shall include at least the following items:
(a) 
Call to order.
(b) 
Recognitions.
(c) 
Approval of minutes.
(d) 
Treasurer's report.
(e) 
Committee reports.
(f) 
Special presentations.
(g) 
Action items.
(h) 
Old business.
(i) 
New business.
(j) 
Comments from the public.
(k) 
Business from the Chairperson.
(l) 
Business from Board members.
(m) 
Adjournment.
(6) 
The Board shall send copies of its agenda for each regular meeting to the Director of Administration, the Administrator of the County Council and the County Attorney at least seven calendar days before the meeting.
(7) 
A Board meeting may be canceled only if:
(a) 
A quorum is not present; or
(b) 
Severe weather causes County libraries to close.
(8) 
(a) 
In addition to the public notice provisions of the State Open Meetings Act, the Board shall post notices of its regular meetings in each library branch at least seven calendar days before each meeting.
(b) 
Each notice shall:
[1] 
Be posted in a conspicuous place;
[2] 
Be in writing;
[3] 
Include the date, time and place of the meeting; and
[4] 
Include the agenda for the meeting.
(9) 
Notice of special meetings of the Board shall be given in accordance with Subsection A(8) of this section unless, in the judgment of the Chairperson, an emergency special meeting is necessary.
B. 
If a Board member fails to attend six or more of the scheduled meetings of the Board in a calendar year:
(1) 
The member shall be deemed to have resigned from the Board;
(2) 
The Chairperson of the Board shall report the member's name and nonattendance to the County Executive as soon as possible;
(3) 
The County Executive may reject the resignation if the member explains the nonattendance satisfactorily; and
(4) 
If the County Executive does not accept the explanation and reject the resignation, the resignation is effective thirty calendar days from the date it was received by the Executive.
A. 
The Board:
(1) 
Shall establish and operate the library to provide free service to residents of Harford County.
(2) 
May permit persons outside of the County to use the library facilities on terms and conditions it determines.
B. 
The Board shall:
(1) 
Establish and operate libraries at any location in the County.
(2) 
Determine the policies of the library.
(3) 
Adopt reasonable rules and regulations and bylaws for the use of the library and the conduct of its business, in accordance with Section 807 of the Charter. The Board may not adopt any rule, regulation or bylaw that conflicts with the provisions of this Article.
C. 
The Board shall:
(1) 
Budget:
(a) 
Assist the Director of the library in preparing the library budget.
(b) 
Ensure that the budget:
[1] 
Is prepared in accordance with County budget practices; and
[2] 
Includes budget categories, a chart of accounts and any other budget practice required by the County executive.
(c) 
Review and approve the budget.
(d) 
Submit the budget to the County Executive in accordance with Section 504 of the Charter.
(2) 
Receive, account for, control and supervise, under the rules and regulations of the County, the spending of all funds received by the library.
(3) 
Obtain authorization from the County Executive before transferring appropriations between budget categories in the current library expense budget.
D. 
The Board shall require that goods and services for the library, including goods and services for capital projects, be purchased in accordance with the Procurement Law for the County, except for the following items:
[Amended by Bill No. 97-17]
(1) 
Library materials available for use by the public;
(2) 
Gifts to the library; or
(3) 
Goods obtained at less than fair market value.
E. 
The Board:
(1) 
Shall use the County Law Department for any legal services it requires.
(2) 
May, in accordance with the provisions of Section 403(c) of the Charter, retain outside counsel.
F. 
Audit and annual report.
(1) 
The Board shall make an annual report to the County Executive and County Council on or before November 1 of each year that shows:
(a) 
The amounts of money received from the library fund and other resources.
(b) 
The itemized expenses.
(c) 
The number of books and periodicals the library has.
(d) 
Any other information the County Executive or County Council may require.
(2) 
Audit.
(a) 
The library operations shall be audited annually in accordance with standard governmental auditing procedures.
(b) 
The Board shall forward a copy of the audit to the County Treasurer by October 1 of each year.
G. 
The Board may:
(1) 
Accept any gift, grant or appropriation for library purposes from any person under any appropriate terms and conditions.
(2) 
Recommend to the County Executive and County Council the acquisition, use or conveyance of property for any valid purpose.
(3) 
Select the location of and approve plans for the erection of library buildings in accordance with County laws and regulations.
(4) 
Do anything else necessary for the proper control and development of the library, consistent with County laws and regulations.
A. 
The Board shall:
(1) 
Select and appoint a professional librarian as Director of the library.
(2) 
Require that the Director:
(a) 
Hold a certificate of library qualifications issued by the State Superintendent of Schools; or
(b) 
Apply for and receive a certificate of library qualifications from the State Superintendent of Schools within one year after being appointed Director.
(3) 
By September 1 of each year, complete a written evaluation of the Director's job performance and forward it to the County Executive.
(4) 
Upon recommendation of the Director, confirm the appointment of any other necessary employees.
B. 
The Director's employment contract with the Board may be renewed only upon the affirmative vote of at least four Board members during a regularly scheduled Board meeting. The Board may not agree, by contract or otherwise, to any other method of renewal, and any such agreement is void.
C. 
The Board shall adopt:
(1) 
Policies for staff classification, salaries, benefits, and other personnel issues; and
(2) 
A grievance procedure for Board employees.
D. 
Each professional public librarian appointee to the professional library staff shall:
(1) 
Hold a certificate of library qualifications issued by the State Superintendent of Schools; or
(2) 
Be eligible and apply for state certification as a professional public librarian within six months of starting employment.
E. 
Board employees shall not be considered County employees but shall be the employees of the Board itself.
F. 
Only the Board may terminate the employment of any of its employees.
The Director of the library shall:
A. 
Act as the chief executive officer of the library and be responsible for the management of its operations in accordance with the policies approved by the Board.
B. 
By November 1 of each year, prepare the annual budget of the library and present it to the Board for approval.
C. 
Nominate for confirmation by the Board all employees in the library system.
D. 
Establish rules and adopt regulations for the use of the library system subject to approval by the Board.
The Board may use volunteer aides. These volunteer aides may not replace library personnel but shall assist regular personnel in carrying out their duties. The Board shall develop guidelines for the selection and use of voluntary aides in its library system. Volunteer aides shall be considered agents of the Board for the limited purpose of comprehensive liability insurance coverage.