Bylaws

Section 1

Membership in the Friends shall be open to all individuals who are in sympathy with its purposes and to representatives of organizations and clubs when such representation is desired.

Section 2

Types of membership.

a.

Family member: Husband, wife and children and relatives living in the same household.

b.

Individual member.

Section 3

Only members in good standing shall be entitled to vote. Members in good standing are those who have paid the current year's dues and have not otherwise been terminated for just cause.

Section 4

Dues

a.

Dues shall be payable annually, on or before July 1st for the subsequent fiscal year.

b.

Dues paid within sixty (60) days prior to July 1st by a NEW member shall be considered payment for the year commencing July 1st after the payment date.

c.

Any member whose dues are in arrears for more than three (3) months shall, after due notice, be dropped from the rolls and all rights and privileges of membership shall cease.

d.

There will be two (2) types of memberships available; Individual and Family. Increases in annual membership dues shall be proposed by the Board of Trustees and voted on by the membership.

Section 1

Regular meetings of the FRIENDS will be held on the first Monday of June and December, unless canceled or postponed by the membership or Trustees, of which due notice will be sent to all members. The time and place of such meetings will be announced in the FRIENDS Newsletter or the monthly Library Newsletter.

Section 2

Beginning in June 1986, and biennially thereafter, a meeting shall be held for the election of Officers, of which due notice will be sent to all members. All votes for Officers shall be by closed written ballot. Elections shall be determined by a majority of those present and voting. The Officers so elected shall take office at the conclusion of such meeting.

Section 3

Beginning in June 1987, and triennially thereafter, a meeting shall be held for the election of the Trustees, of which due notice will be sent to all members. All votes for Trustees shall be by closed written ballot. Elections shall be determined by a majority of those present and voting.  The Trustees so elected shall take office at the conclusion of such meeting.

Section 4

Special meetings of the members may be called from time to time by the President or the Board of Trustees with due notice at least ten (10) days prior to such date.

Section 5

A quorum shall consist of five (5) members in good standing. In the absence of a quorum, no meeting will be held, but the presiding officer shall establish a date for a new meeting. Due notice of such meeting shall be given to all members.

Section 1

Number of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall consist of not less than five (5), nor more than twenty-five (25) persons, all of whom shall be members in good standing, and shall all be citizens of the United States of America and residents of the Longwood Public Library district. The initial number of Trustees shall be five (5). The number of Trustees may be increased to twenty-five (25) or decreased, but not below five (5), by vote of two-thirds of all the Trustees.

Section 2

Terms of Office. Trustees shall serve for a term of three (3) years, and shall serve until a successor is elected and qualify. Trustees shall serve without compensation except that they shall be entitled to reimbursement for all expenses reasonably incurred in the discharge of their duties as Trustees of the FRIENDS.

Section 3

Duties.

a.

Trustees, being so empowered by the Board of Regents of New York State, shall be responsible for the overall functioning of the FRIENDS within the purposes of the FRIENDS as stated in the Certificate of Incorporation.

b.

Should any office (Trustee, President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer) become vacant by reason of death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal from office or otherwise within the last six (6) months of office, the Board of Trustees shall fill the unexpired term by appointment by means of a majority vote of the Trustees. Otherwise, the President of the FRIENDS shall call a special meeting of the membership of the FRIENDS, to be held not later than thirty (30) days following the occurrence of such vacancy, for the purpose of conducting an election to fill the vacancy so created.

c.

Should any of the Officers fail to fulfill the duties of their office, the Board of Trustees shall be empowered to remove such officer upon majority vote of the Trustees.

d.

Any Trustee may be removed or suspended from office by vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees upon examination and due proof of the truth of a written complaint by any Trustee of misconduct, incapability or neglect of duty; provided that at least one (1) week's previous notice of the proposed action shall have been given to the accused and each Trustee.

e.

Immediately after election, the Trustees shall hold their organization meeting, at which time their Chairperson and a Secretary will be elected.

f.

At all duly convened meetings of the Board of Trustees, a majority of the Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The acts of the majority of the Trustees present at such meeting, at which a quorum is present, shall be the acts of the Board of Trustees.

g.

The Board of Trustees shall cause audits to be made of the receipts, disbursements, assets and liabilities of the FRIENDS by and Audit Committee, annually, or at more frequent intervals. A financial report for each fiscal year, July 1 through June 30, shall be rendered by the Audit Committee to the Board of Trustees and to the members of the FRIENDS.

h.

Trustees shall meet at least four (4) times within each fiscal year to review the overall state of the FRIENDS and make any necessary recommendations to the Officer involved.

Section 1

The Officers of the FRIENDS shall be President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer.

Section 2

Officers shall serve for a period of two (3) years and shall serve until their successors are elected and qualify.

Section 3

The Officers of the FRIENDS shall serve without compensation except that they shall be entitled to reimbursement for all expenses reasonably incurred in the discharge of their duties as Officers of the FRIENDS.

Section 4

Duties of Officers

a.

President - The President shall be the executive officer of the FRIENDS and shall preside at all meetings of the members of the FRIENDS. The President shall have the general powers and duties usually vested in the Office of the President of an association, including but not limited to, the power to appoint committees and the Chairperson thereof. The President shall be an ex-officio member of each committee. He/She may assign or reassign other duties to or among the Officers.

b.

Vice-President - The Vice-President shall assist the President, and in his/her absence or disability, shall have all the President's powers and perform such duties.  In the event the Vice-President is absent or incapacitated, the Trustees shall appoint one of its members as a temporary Chairperson to preside at such meetings.

c.

Recording Secretary - The Recording Secretary shall attend all meetings of the members of the FRIENDS and record all votes and minutes of these meetings and proceedings, including resolutions, in a minute book to be kept for that purpose and shall perform other duties as required by the President.

d.

Corresponding Secretary - The Corresponding Secretary shall prepare all correspondence required for the functioning of the FRIENDS, and shall prepare all files of all incoming communications and copies of responses to such communications for a period of three (3) years. The Corresponding Secretary shall perform other duties as required by the President.

e.

Treasurer - The Treasurer shall receive all monies, securities and other valuable effects of the FRIENDS, deposit same in the name of the FRIENDS in such bank or banks as shall be designated by the Trustees, and pay by check all orders approved by the President or Trustees. The Treasurer shall have authority to make payments of up to $50.00 at any time with appropriate documents. All checks or demands for money or notes of the FRIENDS shall be signed by such officer or officers as the Trustees designate. The Treasurer shall maintain a complete list of members of the FRIENDS with their names, addresses and telephone numbers.

The fiscal year of the FRIENDS shall begin on the first day of July and end on the 30th day of June each year.

Amendments to these bylaws may be enacted by concurrence of two-thirds of the membership present and voting at the meeting on which such vote is to be taken. Notice of intention to amend these bylaws must be given in writing to all members not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the meeting at which such action is to be taken.

ARTICLE VIII - Parliamentary Procedure

Robert's Rules of Order Revised, when not in conflict with these bylaws, shall govern the proceedings of the FRIENDS.

-END-

Adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees of the FRIENDS of the Middle Island Public Library, Inc. at a meeting held on October 21, 1985, at which the following Trustees were present:

Alfred Schoch
Salvatore C. Giordano
Joseph E. Astarita
Josephine C. Astarita
James J. Wrynn

Constituting all of the members of the Board of Trustees.

October 21, 1985

Original signed by

Josephine C. Astarita
Secretary of the Meeting.

October 4, 2004

Amendments to Article II, Section 4, d.
Amendments to Article III, Section 1