Clackamas County Library Advisory Board Bylaws

Adopted: November 24, 2020 
Amended: July 15, 2021 
Amended: December 16, 2021

Article I

NAME. The name of this board shall be the Clackamas County Library Advisory Board (Advisory Board), formerly known as Clackamas County Library Board of Trustees.

Article II

PURPOSE. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to serve the residents within the Oak Lodge Library and Gladstone Library Service Areas of the Clackamas County Library District, which was established by the approval of Measure 3-310, in matters concerning library services, policies, and library-related issues in general.

RESPONSIBILITIES. The responsibilities of the Advisory Board are as follows:

1. Make recommendations concerning the library to the Library Manager and Board of County Commissioners (BCC).
2. Review budget for compliance with existing legislative and policy guidelines.
3. Recommend annual adoption of the proposed budget to the Budget Committee.
4. Recommend appointment of prospective members to the BCC.
5. With guidance from staff, determine resolution of challenged materials.
6. Assist in the development of short and long-term goals for the provision of library services to the community.
7. Represent the needs, interests, and desires of library users and residents of the service areas.

Article III

MEMBERSHIP. The Advisory Board shall consist of five (5) regular members. Membership shall be as representative as possible of the geographic and demographic populations of the service area. All members must be residents of either the Oak Lodge Library or Gladstone Library Service Areas. Membership shall not be limited by race, creed, color, sex, age, heritage, national origin or income. Alternate members are not required if there are an insufficient number of applicants for these positions.

1. The representation of the Advisory Board will be as follows:
   1. Three regular members must reside within the Oak Lodge Library service area, one regular member must reside within the City of Gladstone boundary, and one regular member must reside in the unincorporated portion of the Gladstone Library service area.
   2. One alternate member must reside within the Oak Lodge Library Service Area, and one alternate member must reside within the Gladstone Service Area. The alternate members will only vote if they are standing in for an absent member.
   3. Two non-voting ex-officio members that shall be elected officials, one from the Gladstone City Council, and the other from the BCC.
2. Two regular Library Board members will be appointed to the Library District Advisory Committee (LDAC) by the BCC in their capacity as the Library District Board. One member will represent the Oak Lodge Service Area and the other member will represent the Gladstone Service Area. The three regular members representing the Oak Lodge Library Service Area shall make the appointment recommendation for the Oak Lodge LDAC position. The Gladstone City Council, or delegate, shall make the nomination for appointment to the Gladstone LDAC position. The two regular members representing the Gladstone Library Service Area shall make the appointment recommendation for the Gladstone LDAC position. Alternates from each service area may also be designated.

TERM. Members shall have an appointment term of four (4) years which shall expire on June 30. Expiration dates for the terms shall be staggered so that no more than two of the members’ terms will expire in any year. For this purpose, membership terms may initially be staggered for less than four (4) years. Members may seek reappointment for a maximum of two consecutive terms. Reappointment may be made after an interval of one year. Current members seeking a new term on the Advisory Board shall submit an application at least ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of their current term.

APPOINTMENT. Member vacancy occurs when a member dies, resigns, is removed, term expires, or has more than three (3) unexcused absences from meetings within a twelve-month period. Recruitments are managed by Clackamas County with the Advisory Board and Library Manager or designee performing the review of applications, interviews, and appointment recommendations to the BCC. Final appointments are made by the BCC. If available, an alternate member will stand in for votes until the new member has been appointed.

Article IV

OFFICERS. The officers and staffing of the Advisory Board shall include the following:

• Chairperson. The Chairperson shall preside over all meetings of the Advisory Board, appoint committee heads and have the responsibility of the performance of such duties as prescribed in these bylaws. The Chairperson shall act as an ex- officio member of all committees.
• Vice-Chairperson: The Vice-Chairperson shall aid the Chairperson and perform the duties of the Chairperson in his/her absence or disability.
  • 1. One officer shall be drawn from the Oak Lodge Library Service Area, and the other shall be drawn from the Gladstone Library Service Area. The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall jointly establish the agenda for the Advisory Board meetings.
• Secretary: The library manager or director shall serve as Secretary to the Advisory Board. The Secretary shall keep accurate records of all meetings of the Advisory Board. The Secretary may appoint a designee to keep the records of its action. The minutes shall be made available to any member or the public as required by the Oregon Public Records and Meetings Law. The Secretary shall record all correspondence of the Advisory Board. The Secretary shall be responsible to maintain the membership registry required by these bylaws. The Secretary will be a County employee that is not an official member of the Board and shall therefore have no voting rights. The only functions of the Secretary will be as described above. (ORS 357.470).

REPORTING TO PGA. The Advisory Board shall provide the County Public and Government Affairs Department with a current list of officers.

SELECTION OF OFFICERS. The election of officers shall be held at the first meeting of the Advisory Board each fiscal year. Members shall assume their duties immediately upon election to office. All members are eligible for election to officer positions. Proxy votes shall not be allowed. (ORS 357.470).

TERM OF OFFICE. The term of office for all officers shall be two (2) years in succession, however, the officer shall continue to serve until a successor is elected to that office. The election of an officer does not extend the term of appointment to the Advisory Board if first elected to office in the final year of membership as described above in Article III: Term.

VACANCY OF OFFICER. A vacancy occurs when an officer dies, resigns, is removed, term expires, or has more than three (3) unexcused absences from meetings within a twelve-month period. The person elected to fill the vacancy shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term and until a successor is elected to that office, unless the term of person elected expires in accordance with Article III: Term.

Article V

MEETINGS. Meetings of the Advisory Board shall be held in accordance with the Oregon Public Meetings Laws. Meetings shall be held no less than twice per year and shall alternate between branch locations.

The Chairperson may call special meetings at any time with the concurrence of another board member or at the request of any three (3) board members of the Advisory Board. The time and location shall be determined by the Advisory Board. Notice of all meetings shall be provided as required by ORS 192.640 of the Oregon Public Meetings Law. Minutes of all meetings shall be kept and shall be available for public inspection as required by ORS 192.650 of the Oregon Public Meetings Law. A copy of all meeting minutes shall be provided to the County Public and Government Relations Office.

QUORUM and VOTING. A quorum shall be present at a meeting in order for the Advisory Board to transact business. A quorum consists of a majority of all regular or alternate members eligible to vote, not just those present. A vacancy on the board does not affect the quorum requirements. The Advisory Board can take official action only with the affirmative vote of a majority of all members.

RECORDS. All records of the Advisory Board shall be subject to disclosure except as allowed by exemptions of the Oregon Public Records Law.

Article VI

BOARD PROCEDURE. The principles of parliamentary rules of procedures such as Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern proceedings at any meeting of the Advisory Board. The Chair shall be guided by these principles in deciding any procedural questions. The Chair’s decision on procedural matters may be overruled by a majority of the members voting on the question. The Advisory Board may establish a more detailed hearing procedure to provide for an orderly process for holding a public hearing. All meetings shall comply with the Oregon Public Meetings Law.

Article VII

COMMITTEES. The Advisory Board may create committees as required to promote the purposes and objectives of the Advisory Board. A chairperson for each committee shall be selected by the Advisory Board Chairperson.

Article VIII

AMENDMENTS. These Bylaws may be amended. Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the County Counsel for approval. Upon approval of the County Counsel, the proposed amendments shall be approved by the members of the Advisory Board. However, the amendments shall not be in effect until approved by the BCC and that approval has been communicated back to the Chairperson. Amended Bylaws shall supersede all previous Bylaws and become the governing rules for the Advisory Board.