Bylaws

Bylaws of the Finger Lakes Library System

Article I

Name

This organization shall be known as the Finger Lakes Library System, as specified in the absolute charter granted April 23, 1965.

Article II

Purpose

The purpose of the Finger Lakes Library System shall be to expand and improve public library service in the counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins in the State of New York.

Article III

Members of the System

SECTION A: Charter Members are as follows:

Cayuga County:

  • Powers Library Association in Moravia
  • Hazard Library in Poplar Ridge
  • Springport Free Library – Union Springs
  • Weedsport Free Library

Cortland County:

  • Peck Memorial Library in Marathon

Seneca County:

  • Lodi Whittier Library (also called the Elizabeth Garnsey Delavan Library)
  • Waterloo Library and Historical Society

Tioga County:

  • Berkshire Free Library
  • Candor Free Library
  • George P. and Susan Platt Cady Library in Nichols
  • Coburn Free Library in Owego
  • Spencer Free Library
  • Waverly Free Library

Tompkins County:

  • Groton Public Library
  • Cornell Library Association in Ithaca (now Tompkins County Public Library)
  • Newfield Public Library
  • Ulysses Philomathic Library in Trumansburg

SECTION B: Any public or association library of Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga or Tompkins counties may apply to the Board of Trustees of the System for membership by the procedures set forth in the Education Law.

SECTION C: Members that joined the system after August 1958 are:

  • Seymour Library in Auburn (now Seymour Public Library District), May 11, 1960
  • Cato Free Library (now Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library), May 11, 1960
  • Aurora Free Library, November 4, 1960
  • Interlaken Public Library, February 10, 1961
  • Edith B. Ford Memorial Library in Ovid, February 10, 1961
  • Tappan-Spaulding Memorial Library in Newark Valley, May 12, 1961
  • Mynderse Library in Seneca Falls (an Associate Member) (now Seneca Falls Library), April 12, 1963
  • Lamont Memorial Free Library in McGraw, June 8, 1964
  • Kellogg Free Library in Cincinnatus, November 23, 1964
  • Cortland Free Library, August 17, 1967
  • Phillips Free Library in Homer, September 23, 1974
  • Fair Haven Public Library, September 23, 1977

SECTION D: Members joining the System in 1999:

  • Port Byron Library, October 19, 1999
  • Southworth Library Association in Dryden, November 26, 1999

SECTION E: Members joining the System in 2008:

  • Lansing Community Library Center (now Lansing Community Library), April 30, 2008
  • Apalachin Library Association (now Apalachin Library), June 16, 2008

Article IV

Board of Trustees

SECTION A: The governing body of the System shall be a Board of Trustees of eleven members. There shall be one Trustee-at-Large and two Trustees from each county.

SECTION B: The Board of Trustees shall formulate policy, administer funds, guide the direction of the system’s affairs, appoint the director and staff and delegate to them the necessary authority to manage and operate the system.

SECTION C: Trustees shall be elected at the annual meeting for five-year terms beginning January 1 of the following year. No trustee shall hold office for more than two full terms consecutively. Two Trustees are elected each year with three elected every fifth year.

SECTION D: Any person residing in the service area served by the System is eligible to hold the office of Trustee, except employees of the System, salaried employees of a member library, or a member of a County legislative body.

SECTION E: Should a vacancy occur during the year, the Trustees may appoint an eligible person to serve until the end of the calendar year. An election will take place at the annual meeting to fill any remaining full years left on the term.

SECTION F: If a Trustee fails to attend three consecutive meetings, the Trustee shall be deemed to have resigned. The Board has the authority to reinstate said Trustee upon acceptance of justification for the absences.

SECTION G: The voting trustee from each member library is eligible to vote in trustee elections and to ratify bylaw changes, if any. Candidates for election are not eligible to serve as voting delegates. Candidates seeking election/re-election will be named in a Nominating Committee report, which does not require being moved and/or seconded. Voting may be by paper ballot if the meeting is in-person, or verbally if held online.

Article V

Officers

SECTION A: The officers of the Board of Trustees shall be the officers of the System and shall be President, Vice-President and Secretary. A candidate for each office shall be selected by a Nominating Committee appointed by the President two months prior to the end of the calendar year. Trustees will be notified of the Committee’s nominees ten days prior to the December meeting. Officers shall be elected at the December meeting by a majority vote of Trustees present and take office on January 1 for a term of one year. No trustee shall be eligible to serve more than 3 consecutive terms in the same office. If any vacancies occur, the Board may fill them by appointment.

SECTION B:

(1) The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Board, whose duties shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Preside at all meetings of the Board
  • Set the agenda for all Board meetings in collaboration with the Director of the System
  • Serve ex-officio on all committees, with the exception of the Nominating Committee
  • Oversee all actions, policies and regulations of the Board
  • Appoint committee members and chairpersons where needed

(2) The Vice-President shall carry out the responsibilities of the President in the temporary absence or disability of the President.

(3) The Secretary or the meeting’s facilitator shall review the minutes of each meeting recorded by the System Administrative Assistant before they are distributed.

SECTION C: In addition to the officers, a Treasurer will be elected at the December meeting of the Board of Trustees to take the position on January 1 for a term of one year. There is no term limit for the position of Treasurer. If the position becomes vacant, the Board may fill it by appointment.

The Treasurer may either be a sitting trustee, or a non-trustee. A Treasurer who is not a trustee may be paid. If a trustee is elected to the post, it will be without compensation, and they become the chair of the Finance Committee.

The Treasurer is responsible for reviewing monthly financial reports compiled by System staff to ensure that they accurately represent the system’s finances for the reporting period. The Treasurer will provide a written report to the board of their findings each month.

Article VI

Committees

SECTION A: All Committees of the Board will be appointed by a majority of the entire Board upon recommendation of the president and will have at least three members but fewer than the number which constitutes a full Board quorum, unless the committee includes all trustees. Only Board members may serve on Committees of the Board. Committee membership shall be determined as soon as possible after the beginning of the new year.

SECTION B: The Board can delegate authority to a committee on a specific issue to bind the corporation on any matter except:

  • The submission to the member of any action requiring the members’ consents under N-PCL and any successor provisions or amendments thereto.
  • The filling of vacancies in the Board or in any committee.
  • The fixing of compensation of the directors for serving on the Board or on any committee.
  • The amendment or repeal of the bylaws or the adoption of new bylaws (as noted above).
  • The amendment or repeal of any resolution of the Board that by its terms shall not be so amendable or repealable.

Other than for specifically designated issues, committees must submit recommendations to the full Board for action.

SECTION C: The Committees of the Board shall be Executive, Personnel, Finance, Policies, Nominating and Audit. Additional committees may be formed as per Section A as the Board deems necessary and will be documented in Board meeting minutes.

SECTION D: The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Finance Committee chair, and the past President or other trustee elected by a majority of the entire Board.

SECTION E: The entire Board shall serve as the Audit Committee.

SECTION F: The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.

Article VII

Meetings

SECTION A: Meetings of Trustees – Business shall be conducted in accordance with the accepted rules of parliamentary procedure. A majority of the members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum. All meetings are open to the public.

SECTION B: Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President or at the request of any three Trustees. Trustees will be notified of such meeting at least five days in advance. Special meetings shall be for the transaction of only such business as stated in the notice.

SECTION C: The annual meeting of the System shall be held in October and shall be called by the Secretary by notice in writing to the Trustees of member libraries at least one month prior to the scheduled date. The Board of each member library may designate one of their number as Voting Trustee. For voting to take place, one-third of the libraries which are members of the Finger Lakes Library System must be represented. The meeting is open to the public, but not subject to the state Open Meetings Law.

SECTION D: The System may, at its discretion, provide for remote participation in Board Meetings by board members and the System Annual Meeting by library voting delegates, as allowed by applicable state law and any regulations in force. Notice to the public that remote connections will be used must be advertised at least seven days in advance. Members of the public who connect remotely will have their microphones muted except during the public comment period or at the request of a trustee.

Article VIII

Amendments

These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the total number of Trustees. Notice of any proposed amendment shall be given to each Trustee in writing at least two weeks before the meeting at which the vote is to be taken. Bylaw changes are effective upon Board approval.

Any approved changes will be presented at the following Annual Meeting where the voting delegates will be asked to ratify them. Approval by two-thirds of the voting delegates present is required for ratification.

Should the ratification fail, the Board of Trustees must address the objections expressed by proposing additional changes or explaining why no further changes will be proposed.

Board-approved bylaw changes remain in effect unless amended by further Board action.

Revision history:

  • Revised October 2000
  • Revised June 2008. Unanimously approved at the October 15, 2008, Annual Meeting.
  • Revisions approved by the Board of Trustees August 23, 2017.
  • Revision approved by Board of Trustees February 21, 2018, and by full membership at Annual Meeting October 12, 2018.
  • Revision approved by Board of Trustees September 18, 2019 and by full membership at Annual Meeting October 18, 2019.
  • Revision approved by Board of Trustees February 21, 2018, and by full membership at Annual Meeting October 16, 2020.
  • Revision approved by Board of Trustees July 19, 2023, and by full membership at Annual Meeting October 13, 2023.