ARTICLE I. History of the Library
Longwood Public Library operates under an absolute charter granted May 25, 1973, by the Board of Regents for and on behalf of the New York State Education Department. The charter was provisionally granted June 26, 1953, under the name Coram Public Library.
The Library is governed under the terms of Article 5 of the New York State Education Law.
ARTICLE II. Mission
Longwood Public Library’s mission is to provide the best library service in the most sustainable way to the Longwood community.
ARTICLE III. Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Library shall be July 1 through June 30.
ARTICLE IV. The Board of Trustees
Longwood Public Library shall be governed by a Board of Trustees, hereafter referred to as the “Board,” consisting of five members, each elected for a five-year term. The term of office of one trustee shall expire each year. Candidates for the office of trustee shall be nominated by a petition which shall meet the requirements of Education Law § 2018. Said candidate must be a qualified voter of the Longwood Central School District. Each newly-elected trustee shall take office at the reorganizational meeting of the Board, in July. An oath of office shall be administered to all newly-elected trustees, and filed with the Suffolk County Clerk.
The Board has the power to fill any vacancy, by a majority vote, which may occur on the Board due to cause other than expiration of term, with the oath of office duly administered. The person so appointed in the place of any such Board member shall hold their office until the next annual election of Board members. The unexpired term of the office will then be filled by election. In the event that the Board chooses not to fill a vacancy by majority vote, the vacant seat will be filled by election at the next annual election. Such election shall be conducted “at-large,” with the highest vote-getting candidate receiving the longest available term, and the second highest vote-getting candidate receiving the second longest available term, etc.
The authority of the Board is vested in the Board as an entity. The duties of the Board shall be to adopt such bylaws, rules and regulations for its own guidance and for the governance of the Library as may be necessary and in conformity with the law.
Board members serve without remuneration. Trustees may be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official Library business, upon approval of the Board.
ARTICLE V. Board Officers
The officers of the Board are President, Vice President, Secretary, Financial Chairperson, and Building Chairperson. The Board as a group elects these officers from within their membership at the annual reorganizational meeting. Officers shall serve a term of one year from the meeting at which they are elected and until their successors are duly elected. The President of the Board shall serve no more than two consecutive one-year terms. The duties and responsibilities of said officers are as follows:
A. The President shall see that the Library is well managed in a manner consistent with the law and the policies established by the Board, and shall have charge of all meetings of the Board. Duties shall include: opening the meetings in a timely fashion by calling the members to order; recognizing members entitled to the floor; stating and putting to vote all questions which are regularly moved; assisting in the expediting of business in every way compatible with the rights of the members; deciding all the questions of order, subject to an appeal to the full Board by any two members; appointing, with approval of the Board, committees and committee chairpersons; and executing all documents authorized by the Board.
B. The Vice President, in absence or disability of the President, shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of the President. The Vice President shall generally assist the President and exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as shall be prescribed by the trustees.
C. The Secretary shall keep a true and accurate record of all meetings of the Board, shall issue notice of all regular and special meetings, and shall perform such other duties as are generally associated with that office. Upon approval of the Board, the Secretary may delegate certain of these clerical tasks to the Secretary to the Board. The Secretary shall also ensure that the official copies of bylaws, rules of order, policies and minutes of the Board and other Board records are properly stored, as well as other Library records except such as are specifically assigned to others, as the Treasurer’s books.
D. The Financial Chairperson shall act as the Board’s liaison on fiscal matters with the Board of Education, the Library Director, the Board Accountant, and the Treasurer. The Financial Chairperson shall also recommend changes to Library policy concerning the terms of employment and duties of an accountant, treasurer, and accounting/bookkeeping services, recommend changes in the professionals and services employed by the Library as accountant, treasurer and accounting/bookkeeping services, and recommend investments of Library funds.
E. The Building Chairperson shall act as the Board’s liaison with the Director on matters pertaining to the physical plant and act as the Board’s representative in emergency situations. The Building Chairperson is authorized by resolution to commit specific funds to solve building-related emergencies.
ARTICLE VI. The Library Director
The Board shall hire a Library Director who shall be considered the chief executive officer of the Library under the direction and review of the Board. The Director shall also be administered an Oath of Office, which shall be filed with the Suffolk County Clerk. The Director shall be held responsible for the care of the Library building, grounds, and equipment; for the employment and direction of the staff; for the efficiency of the Library’s service to the public; for public relations; and for the operation of the Library under the financial conditions set forth in the annual budget established by the Board. The Director shall attend and participate, without vote, in all meetings of the Board, except such portion of any meeting dedicated to discussing the employment or compensation of the Director.
ARTICLE VII. Attendance at Board Meetings
A majority of the duly elected and/or appointed trustees shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of any regular or special meeting of the Board. In acting upon any resolution, a majority of the five trustees shall be necessary for the purposes of approving or disapproving any resolution.
Trustees are expected to attend all Board meetings punctually. If a valid reason prevents a trustee from attending, the President of the Board or the Library Director should be notified in advance. An excused absence is defined as one where prior notification has been given to the President or to the Director and the President approves such request. If the President asks to be excused, the Vice President approves the request. If a trustee fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings without excuse, the trustee will be deemed to have resigned. The President will inform the absent trustee in writing that they are no longer on the Board.
ARTICLE VIII. Meetings of the Board
Unless otherwise stated herein, in the case of procedural disputes, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings of the Board.
The Board will hold a reorganizational meeting in July on a date to be determined by the Board. The dates and time for monthly meetings will be voted upon for the coming year at the reorganizational meeting.
The Board will meet regularly each month on a schedule adopted at the reorganizational meeting, unless deemed not possible or practical by a majority of the Board. Public notice of a regular meeting shall be given in accordance with the Open Meetings Law § 104.
Special meetings may be called by the President or any three members of the Board and written notice thereof must be emailed to all members, and the Library Director. Whenever possible the public will be informed of special meetings by notices on the Library webpage and public bulletin board. Notices of special meetings will describe generally the matters to be taken by the Board at such special meetings. In instances wherein an emergency requires a meeting which will not allow sufficient time to permit email notification, dates of such meetings may be transmitted by telephone, including information as matters to be taken up by the Board. The agenda at special meetings shall be only those matters for which the meeting is scheduled. Any other emergency business which may arise after official notification has been issued to Board members may be added to the agenda, provided such additions are approved by a majority vote of those present.
All Board meetings (regular, special, and executive session) shall be held at the location ordered by the Board within the Library with the appropriate notice as required by law.
Notice to the public of the time and place of the regular meeting shall be published by the following means: posting on the Library’s bulletin board and on the Library website.
The order of business at the regular meetings shall be as stated in the agenda.
ARTICLE IX. Conduct of Board Meetings
A. The order of business for regular meetings shall include, but not be limited to, the following items which shall be covered in the sequence shown, unless circumstances make an altered order more efficient:
1. Call to order
2. Pledge of allegiance
3. Approval of agenda
4. Approval of prior meeting minutes
5. Period of public expression
6. Treasurer’s report
7. Warrants & other financial reports
8. Statistical reports
9. Director & other staff reports
10. Correspondence
11. Unfinished business
12. Period of public expression
13. New business
14. Executive session (when required)
15. Personnel report
16. Adjournment
B. Minutes of Board Meetings of the Longwood Public Library will be taken by the Confidential Administrative Secretary. The minutes shall include the following:
- The classification (regular, adjourned or special), date and place of meeting.
- The call to order starting time, person presiding and, if any, his or her office.
- The record of each Board member present.
- The record of the presence or absence of the Director, Assistant Director, professional advisors, and other staff members, or members of the public who participate in the meeting, address, or report to the Board.
- The record of any corrections to the minutes of previous meetings and the action taken by the Board.
- The record and reference to all communications presented to the Board.
- The record of each motion placed before the Board, and the vote of each Board member on each motion.
The minutes shall be permanently filed and indexed in the Business Office.
All reports requiring Board action, resolutions, agreements and other written documents may be made a part of the minutes by reference, and if so, shall be placed in the files as a permanent record.
The approved minutes of the Board may be viewed in the Administration Office or the Thomas R. Bayles Local History Room during the hours that the Library is open. Draft minutes of each Board meeting will be made available in the same locations two (2) weeks after the meeting. Approved Board Minutes will be posted on the library’s website.
Copies of approved minutes may be obtained under the Freedom of Information Law at the rate established by law.
C. The Board encourages public expression at Board meetings. Two periods for public expression are provided at each regular meeting of the Board. During these periods the Board President will ask for brief comments from the public and may set a reasonable time limit on such comments.
The Board President is responsible for the orderly conduct of the meeting. He/she shall recognize speakers and shall rule on such matters as the time to be allowed for public expression and the appropriateness of the subject being presented. Comments from the public are limited to a maximum of three minutes per speaker.
Speakers shall identify themselves, any organizations they may be representing at the meeting, and, where applicable, the agenda topic they wish to discuss. Comments should be kept as brief as possible and must relate to public library matters.
Speakers shall face and address the Board, not the audience, during the Period of Public Expression. Undue interruption or other interference with the orderly conduct of Board business is not permitted. Defamatory or abusive remarks are always out of order. The presiding officer may terminate the speaker’s privilege of address if, after being called to order, he or she persists in improper conduct or remarks.
At a public meeting of the Board, no persons shall orally initiate charges or complaints against individual employees of the Library or challenge materials in the Library collections. All such charges, complaints, or challenges shall be presented to the Library Director in writing, signed by the complainant.
ARTICLE X. Review of Bylaws
Bylaws shall be reviewed annually by the Board. Amendments to these bylaws may be made by majority vote at any regular meeting at which a quorum is present providing that the changes shall have been submitted in writing at the preceding regular meeting.
Adopted by Board: October 16, 2019
Revised by Board: August 16, 2023
Revised by Board: July 17, 2024
