Board of Trustees

Library Board/Trustees


Governing Board - a body of trustees as designated in MN Statute 134, and organized according to accepted bylaws, which the board itself may later revise, and should review from time to time for validity.


What kind of Board do you have? Governing or Advisory? 

This is generally how it works: Every public library, by MN state statute, is a governing board by state statute 134, unless it’s a charter city, and the city charter spells out some alternative structure. In that case, the city charter takes precedence. If the charter does not mention the library especially, it reverts to state statute, which is a governing board. Your city manager will know if you’re a charter city. It’s not easy to change library boards from governing to advisory, or vice versa. Consult your regional library system and your attorney for more information.


Resources:

2021 MN State Statute

MN Public Library Trustee Handbook

ALA Resources for Trustees

Roberts Rules of Order cheat sheet



Books in the SELCO Professional Collection 

The Complete Library Trustee Handbook”, 2010.

The Successful Library Trustee Handbook”, 2005.