Recently Asked Questions (RAQs)

Often times, our meeting agenda changes so we would like to add a disclosure at the bottom that reads “Agenda is subject to change.”

Is this something that is allowed, and would it need to be included in our bylaws?

[My library's] community is calling for a member of the staff to have a seat on the board as a voting member. However, I am searching for something in the trustee handbook or DLD regulations that explicitly states this. I am not aware of any library that has ever had a staff member sit on the board as a voting trustee. I'm not inclined to agree because there are multiple knock-on effects they have not contemplated (e.g. changes to by-laws, number of seats on the board, not to mention the ethicality of a staff member sitting on a body that directs hiring/wages/appointments etc.). Of course, local by-laws are also in effect, but those do not state staff cannot be on the board, it's always just been common knowledge.

Any help/advice you could provide about the ethical question, as well as perhaps the legal one, would be very helpful.

Many thanks.

We are beginning our long-range planning process and are asking patrons to fill out a community survey to assess what the community wants to see in the library now and in the future. Thinking it was a good idea to raffle off gift cards to encourage participation, I gave my board trustees a letter requesting a donation of gift cards. Another director told me I'm not supposed to have the board ask for donations in any form. This is something our Friends group should do. Please advise. Thanks in advance!

[NOTE: We didn't get this as a submission to "Ask the Lawyer", but we wish we had...]

Our library board is considering a resolution to bar displays celebrating Pride Month.  The ban focuses on, but is not limited to, displays in children's/YA areas.  Is this a legal issue?

Our Board of Trustees is searching for a new director. Our Library has transitioned from a very small building to a modern, significantly larger building. As a public library, the school district we serve has a population of more than 18,000. Our former director did not have a contract. Some trustees have expressed the desire to make a contract with the candidate selected to serve as the next Library Director. We have received conflicting information about how common such contracts are. We don't want to devote time and energy to drawing up a contract that holds no value in the end. How common and necessary is it to have a Library Director contract for a public library serving a community of our size?