7.21 Petitioning By a County, City, Municipal, School or Public Library District

According to RSMo 182.660—

“The board of trustees of a county, city, municipal, school, or public library district may, by resolution duly acted upon, the board of trustees in writing to become a part of a consolidated library district to become a part of and be included in such consolidated public library district. The petitioning district may be admitted into the consolidated public library district upon majority vote of the board of trustees of the consolidated public library district at the prevailing tax rate of the consolidated district. Notice of inclusion of the petitioned district into the consolidated public library district shall be given to the governing authority of the district so included in accordance with the notice provisions set out in section 182.620”.

“Whenever five percent of the voters of a county, city, municipal, school, or public library district shall petition in writing the governing authority of the district to be included in the consolidated public library district and upon written approval by majority vote of the board of trustees of the consolidated public library district, it shall be the duty of the governing authority to submit the question to the voters of the petitioning district at an election.”

“Upon admission of any petitioning district by majority vote of the board of trustees of the consolidated public library district or upon majority approval of the voters of any such district for inclusion in the consolidated public library district, the taxing authority and governing authority of the district shall take appropriate action to transfer, within sixty days following the approval or election, all title and interest in all property both real and personal in the name of the district, to the board of trustees of the consolidated public library district. Upon the transfer of the title and interest in the property, it shall become a part of the consolidated public library district.”

“If the tax levy for the district admitted is not at the same rate as that of the consolidated public library district or if there is no tax levied in the district for the support of public libraries, then at the beginning of the next taxing period a tax or taxes shall be levied in the district admitted to conform to and be the same as that levied in the consolidated public library district.”

7.22 Requirements for Physical Facility

A community desiring a branch library must provide the library district with a facility (building) from which to operate. Under Missouri Standards for Public Libraries, the building must be

compliant with federal, state, and local laws including fire, safety, sanitation, handicapped accessibility, energy conservation, and any other state and local codes or regulations.

Wiring must meet local codes and provide sufficient access for electronic equipment and telecommunications access.

Adequate shelving to accommodate a basic collection and allow for future growth of the collection must be provided.

Convenient, sufficient, well-lit parking must be located near or adjacent to the facility.

7.23 New Branch Guidelines

A population of at least 1,000 persons is considered the minimum size for establishment of a branch library. In addition, the community must show evidence of commercial and trade activities which are indicators of the ability to attract persons from the surrounding area.

A new branch will not be established within a 10 mile radius of any existing branch.

A new branch comes under the administration of the consolidated library district and its board of trustees.

The Library District accepts ownership of the building through transfer of the deed to the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library System. The library system takes over the maintenance and repairs to the facility and grounds. Any branch facility that is not owned by the library district must meet the requirements for physical facility and a signed contract with the owner(s) will be required to outline responsibility for each party.

Staff will be hired and the library district will provide the necessary training for providing service to the public.

Purchase of books and library materials will become the responsibility of the library district under the district’s materials selection policy.

Supplies and equipment needed to operate a new branch facility will become the responsibility of and be owned by Barry-Lawrence Regional Library.

7.24 Re-evaluation of Branches

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to re-evaluate existing library branches and facilities to determine that the need is still there and that they are viable branches.

Actual usage of the branch will be determined by circulation statistics, active programming, community interest, and usage of the facility.