New York Laws
Part 2 - Libraries
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.

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