Park Forest Public Library

Bylaws of the Park Forest Public Library

Bylaws of the Park Forest Public Library Board of Trustees

  1. The Park Forest Public Library Board of Trustees serves the residents of Park Forest.
  2. The regular meeting of the library board shall be held on the third Thursday of each month at the Park Forest Public Library.  All meetings shall be posted and open to the public in conformity with the Illinois “Open Meetings Act” (51LCS 120/1-6).
  3. Special meetings may be held at any time at the call of the president or at the call of any two trustees of the board, provided that notice thereof be given to all trustees at least 48 hours in advance of the special meetings and that other provisions of the “Open Meetings Act” are met.
  4. Trustees are elected for a term of six years.
  5. The Board shall consist of seven members.  A quorum shall consist of four trustees.
  6. The officers of the board shall be president, vice-president, and secretary.  The president, vice-president and secretary shall be elected from among the board trustees.  The recording secretary shall be appointed, but need not be a member of the board.  The officers shall be elected at the first regular meeting of the board in odd years following the regular village election, for a term of two years, and shall remain in office until their successors are elected.  In the event the office of the president becomes vacant, the vice-president shall assume the office of the president until the next scheduled election occurs.  A new vice-president shall be elected to serve until the next regular election.  In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of vice-president or secretary, an election shall be held to fill that position until the next regularly scheduled election.
  7. In the event a vacancy on the board occurs, a trustee shall be appointed by the board to fill the vacancy until the next regular election at which trustees are to be elected.  At this time a trustee shall be elected to fill the remainder of the term.  If, however, less than 28 months remain in said term, the appointment shall be for the remainder of the term.  Vacancies shall be filled within 90 days after a vacancy has been declared.
  8. The president of the board shall preside at all meetings, appoint all committees and generally perform the duties of a presiding officer.  In the absence of the president, the vice-president shall preside.  If neither the president nor the vice-president is present, the secretary -- or in his/her absence some other trustee should call the meeting to order, and the assembly shall immediately elect a chairperson pro tem to preside during that session.  Such office is terminated by the entrance of the president or vice-president, or by the election of another chairperson pro tem.
  9. The recording secretary shall keep minutes of all board meetings, issue notices of all regular meetings and, on proper authorization, of all special meetings.  If the recording secretary is not present, the board may appoint an acting recording secretary.  Such office is terminated by the entrance of the recording secretary, or by the appointment of another acting recording secretary.
  10. Standing committees shall include Personnel and Finance, and shall be appointed at the time of election of officers.  Each committee shall be comprised of a chairperson and three other board trustees with the president as an ex officio member.  Special committees shall be appointed by the President as needed.
  11. The order of business at all regular meetings of the board shall be as follows:
  • Roll Call
  • Approval of Minutes
  • Communications
  • Audience to Visitors
  • Financial Report
  • Report of the Board President
  • Report of the Librarian
  • Reports of Committees
  • Unfinished Business
  • New Business
  • Executive Session
  1. Robert’s Rules of Order (revised) shall govern in the parliamentary procedure of the board, except as specified herein.  A roll call vote shall be taken of the trustees present at the request of any one trustee.
  2. The Library Director shall be executive director of the policies adopted by the board.  Among the duties and responsibilities shall be the direction and supervision of all staff members in the performance of their duties, the submission to the board of monthly and annual reports, and recommendations to the board of such policies and procedures as, in the opinion of the Library Director, would promote efficiency of the library in its service to the people of the community.
  3. If any claim or action not covered by insurance is instituted against an officer or employee of the Park Forest Public Library allegedly arising out of an act or omission occurring within the scope of his or her duties as such officer or employee, the Park Forest Public Library shall at the request of the officer or employee:
  • Appear and defend against the claim or action; and
  • Pay or indemnify the officer or employee for a judgment and court cost based on such claim or action, provided there shall be no indemnification for any portion of a judgment representing an award of punitive or exemplary damages; and
  • Pay or indemnify the officer or employee for a compromise or settlement of such claim or action providing the settlement is approved by the board of trustees of this library.

For the purposes of this section, the term officer shall include both elected and appointed officers.  The term officer and employee shall include former officers and employees.  This indemnification resolution shall not apply if the board of trustees finds that the claim or action is based on malicious, willful or criminal misconduct.  In such case, the action to be taken by the board of trustees will be determined after an investigation of the facts.

  1. Amendments to these bylaws and changes in any written policy of the board may be proposed at any regular meeting but may become effective only after a favorable vote at a subsequent meeting.

Conflicts of Interest

The Park Forest Public Library Board of Trustees is subject to Illinois Law regarding conflicts of interest.

  1. Trustees may not have any interest "in any contract or the performance of any work in the making or letting of which such officers may be called upon to act or vote" [50 ILCS 105/3 et seq.]. This provision is not avoided by a board member abstaining from voting. If the said member has an interest in the outcome, then he or she is in violation of the statute.
  2. Trustees may not accept or offer to receive money or anything of value as a gift, bribe, or means of influence.
  3. Trustees may also not serve simultaneously in two governmental positions that are "incompatible."

Electronic Meetings

The Board of Library Trustees believes it is in the best interest of its residents and taxpayers that the fullest participation and attendance in all board meetings be achieved whenever possible; and

The use of electronic conferencing for meeting attendance and voting requirements, at least in some governmental meetings, is permissible so long as the meeting is conducted in accordance with the open meetings act; and

The open meetings act has been amended to allow attendance at public body meetings through audioconference, video-conference, or by any other electronic conferencing without physical attendance; and

The Board in all of its regular, special, and committee meetings complies and intends to comply with the provisions of the open meetings act.

The Board of Library Trustees, having considered the aforesaid matters, hereby adopts this policy to be used when needed, to make use of the capabilities for conferencing by electronic means or any other type of conferencing for its meetings as more specifically set out in this resolution, and to adopt, establish, and set forth the rules of the board applicable thereto:

  1. All pertinent provisions of the open meetings act must be complied with, including specifically the proper notice of any regular or special meeting, the proper record keeping or minutes of each meeting, and the appropriate agenda preparation for each meeting, which in addition shall be posted along with the notice of the meeting; in particular, any use of closed sessions shall be in compliance with the provisions of the act.
  2. That sufficient security and identification procedures be employed, either at the outset of any meeting or at any time during the meeting as appropriate, to ensure that any and all members attending for discussion or voting purposes are in fact an authorized member with the right to speak and vote.
  3. Pursuant to the open meetings act, a quorum of members of the board must be physically present at the location of the meeting. Only additional members, i.e., those members not part of the required physically present quorum, may attend by video and/or audio conferencing or by other electronic means.
  4. All board members attending meetings by electronic conferencing shall be entitled to vote as if they were personally and physically present at the meeting site so long as a physical quorum is present, but their votes shall be recorded by the secretary as done by electronic attendance.
  5. A board member who attends a meeting by video or audio conference must provide notice to the recording secretary or clerk of the board at least 24 hours prior to the meeting unless such advanced noticed is impracticable.
  6. A board member may attend a meeting through electronic conferencing if his or her physical presence at the meeting is prevented due to (i) personal illness or disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the board; or (iii) a family or other emergency.
  7. As soon as it becomes apparent to the Board that a meeting will include electronic conferencing, all subsequent notices of the meeting shall indicate that one or more board members will or may be attending by electronic means. In the event that the notice of the meeting has already been disseminated and posted, a follow-up notice indicating the above shall be placed as soon as possible. In the event any news media have filed the annual request for notice of meetings, they shall receive an updated notice in the same manner as given to all members of the board.
  8. The meeting minutes shall include, but need not be limited to; (i) the date, time, and place of the meeting; (ii) the members of the board who were either present or absent from the meeting and whether those members in attendance were physically present or present by audio conference, video conference, or by other electronic means; and (iii) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.
  9. This policy shall not be construed to mean that conferencing by electronic means shall be regularly used or used at every meeting of the board but shall be used only as necessary to allow the participation of board members who are unable to attend in person due to such circumstances listed in provision 6 of this policy.
  10. The location of the meeting included on the notice shall be equipped with a suitable transmission system (e.g. A speakerphone) in order that the public audience, the library members in attendance, and any staff will be able to hear any input, vote, or discussion of the conference and that the member attending by electronic means shall have a similar capability of hearing such input, vote, or discussion.