If you have complaints about the policies and operation of your local library the first step is to contact the library board members. (Note: Counties seem to have some flexibility over whether to have a library board, but it is presumed here that they all have library boards.)[i]
HOLDING THE APPOINTING OFFICIAL ACCOUNTABLE
The responsibility for the library goes beyond just the library board members. The board members are appointed by one or more local officials. The appointing official shares the blame for appointing poor choices to the library board.
Some local libraries are city libraries, some are county libraries, and some are run by more than one local government under an agreement. If it is a city library, the mayor makes all the appointments to the library board with the approval of the appointment by the city council.[ii] The board of a county library is appointed by the county judge with the consent of the quorum court.[iii] If more than one local government has joined together to run a library, then appointments are determined by the agreement.
If your library board has gone off the rails, find out who appointed each of the members and hold the appointing officer accountable for bad appointments.
For decades, city and county officials could assume everything was going fine at the local library as long as the facility looked nice and there were plenty of books. They can’t make that assumption anymore. That is why it is their duty to vet potential appointees and to make sure the appointee knows what is expected by the official making the appointment.
If your city road is bad, you would hold the mayor accountable. If the county highway is bad, you would hold the county judge accountable. If appointees to the library board are making ridiculous decisions, shouldn’t you hold your mayor and city council accountable or your county judge and quorum court accountable?
REMOVING BOARD MEMBERS
A county judge can remove an appointee to the county library board. Before doing so, the county judge must first give the board member written notification of the causes for seeking removal of the board member. Next, the removal must be confirmed by the quorum court. The board member can appeal the removal to the circuit court.[iv]
We did a quick search but did not find a similar procedure for appointments by mayors.
EXERCISING MORE CONTROL OVER THE LIBRARY
Your mayor, council, county judge and quorum court also have some responsibility for their libraries because they can exercise some control over the powers granted to the library board.
The law providing for the establishment of municipal libraries specifies some municipal library board powers, but for the most part, the powers of library boards are determined by the ordinance or agreement establishing the library. [v] For example, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Saline County is considering a proposed ordinance to shift some library board powers to the county judge.[vi]
Revising the ordinance or agreement establishing a local library may be an option to deal with a library board that has gone off the rails.
FINANCES
And then there is the library’s finances. But that is a subject for a future article.
GETTING THE INFORMATION YOU NEED
Cities, counties, and local libraries are all subject to the Freedom of Information Act.[vii] That means if you want to know when the terms of library board members will expire or want a copy of the ordinances or agreements establishing the library, you are entitled to receive the information.
You don’t need some fancy form to get the information. But, to get their attention be sure to say you are requesting the information under the Freedom of Information Act and that you are an Arkansas citizen.
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[i] A.C.A. § 13-2-401, 13-2-402, and 13-2-404. Also § 14-14-705
[ii] A.C.A. § 13-2-502
[iii] A.C.A. § 14-14-705
[iv] A.C.A. § 14-14-705 (e) and (f)
[v] A.C.A. § 13-2-502 (h)
[vi] Proposed Saline County ordinance puts library under county judge, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 7, 2023
[vii] A.C.A. § 25-19-101 et seq.
