Alabama Attorney General Opinions Relating to Public Libraries: AG Opinions by Date

Libraries may raise funds and keep separate from city library appropriations provided funds are used by library.

State aid funds given to Alabama Public Libraries through the Alabama Public Library Service do not revert to the state general fund or the special education trust fund at the end of the fiscal year.

The Alabama Public Library Service cannot utilize the Birmingham Public Library contract of September 16, 1977, with Autographics, Inc., for the purpose of the production of an APLS "COM" catalog.

It is not necessary, but permissible, for municipalities comprising the Muscle Shoals Regional Library Board to appoint local library boards.

Competitive bids must be taken for the purchase of an elevator car.

City of Graysville Public Library Board employees may participate in the State Employees Retirement System.

Where there is an existing public library, the power to establish a joint library service and to determine the number of members on the joint library board rests with the existing library board. Where there is no existing library, the power to establish a joint library service and to determine the number of members on the joint board rests with the county and/or city governments desiring to establish the joint library service.

Alabama Public Library Service has the authority to establish rules and regulations necessary to effectively govern their own operations as required by law.

Any municipal or county official may serve as a member of a public library board.

Relationship between county and municipal public libraries and joint libraries discussed.

Municipal Court of Coffee County may, pursuant to Act No. 905, Regular Session 1969, collect the sum of $1.00 for a library tax in each municipal case.

The City of Fairhope may under certain circumstances employ legal counsel for the mayor, members of city council and members of city library board of trustees, sued in their individual capacities.

A county or municipal library board as well as the county or municipality is authorized to collect money and establish a fund for renovation or con­struction of library buildings.

Employees of the Millbrook Public Library are part of the municipality's personnel system, since the city library is not a legal entity separate from the municipality and since the personnel system does not specifically exclude library employees.

A local public library board can­ not hold title to real property.

A county cannot directly pay library expenses in lieu of appropriating funds, since 11-90-1, et seq., places the daily supervision of libraries with the library board which has express powers and duties with regard to funds.

A City Public Library may expend the principal amount of bequest unless a local ordinance specifically prohibits.

A local free public library may be established by ordinance or resolution of the governing body of the county or city.

DeKalb County Commission cannot contribute funds to local Chapter of Red Cross, but may contract with that organization to perform services for the citizens of the county. DeKalb County Commission may make an appropriation to the county library and the Library Boards may employ library personnel and pay such personnel from the county appropriation.

St. Clair County Library employees have a right to appeal to St. Clair County Personnel Board. County Library Board is under control of County Commission, although daily government and supervision of Library is vested in Library Board.

Public library board has no authority to borrow money.

Regional library may not enter into a lease for a period greater than one year unless the lease contract contains a provision which allows the library to renew or terminate the lease at the end of each year.

The Tuscaloosa Public Library and the City of Northport should enter into a contract for library service.

The agreement between Phenix City and Russell County regarding joint library service is valid. The unexpired terms of the board members as set forth in the agreement should be filled. The library board does have authority to enter into an employment contract with library employee.

The provisions for establish­ing a public library are set forth in §§11-90-1 through 11-90-4. A mayor cannot, on his own, dissolve a public library board or remove board members. If board members are removed without cause, they should be reinstated.

Unlike sales tax, lease tax is not a consumer tax. Lease tax is levied upon the lessor and not the lessee. §40-12-220, et seq., Code of Alabama 1975. Therefore, county library which leased equipment from lessor is not liable for lease tax.

City Board of Education may share expense of part-time librarian in Public Library.

The purchase of books and periodicals by a state library is exempt from the state competitive bid laws under Code of Alabama §41-16-21(a)(197-577— However, the purchase of furnishings is subject to the state bid laws.

Library board can only give additional raises when such raises are approved by appropriate authority in municipal personnel system. Library board may grant administrative leave to employees. Conflicts between personnel system and library board must be decided on a case by case basis.

Any municipal or county official may serve as a member of a public library board.

Regional libraries cannot enter into contract with citizens groups.

An agency or individual seeking access to public library circulation records must petition the circuit court for an order releasing said records, unless any other provision of general, special or local law, rule or regulation is applicable.

Employees of the Parks and Recreation Department and the B. B. Comer Public Library of the City of Sylacauga are, under the provisions of Act 51-428, covered by the Civil service system of the City of Sylacauga.

Leased property used for religious, school, or library purposes exempt from taxation.

1. Unless required by the bylaws of the boards, the members of the Depot Board of the Town of Stevenson and the Stevenson Branch Advisory Board (library board) do not have to reside in the corporate limits of the Town of Stevenson. 2. The Town Council of Stevenson by resolution may decrease the number of members serving on the Depot Board from nine to five.

Since funds in question were used for educational purposes, within the purview of the law, the board of education cannot compel return of funds provided county library by city.

A Regional Library Board may divide books, materials and non-fixed equipment among members of the Regional System in the event of dissolution of the system.

Relationship between Regional Library Systems and County and Municipal Governments discussed.

Employees of library board may be included under county's health insurance program, and may become eligible to participate in state employees' retirement system.

The entire ASETF appropriation to Alabama Public Library Service, pursuant to Act 90-735, 1990 Regular Session, is subject to proration. The amount appropriated to Alabama Public Library Service from the ASETF, pursuant to Act 90-648, 1990 Regular Session, should be prorated so that the distribution to each of the named public libraries is reduced by 3.72%.

The Dadeville Public Library Board has the authority to operate the library and control the expenditure of funds appropriated to it. Library employees are supervised by the library board but they are also city employees subject to city personnel policies.

The Alabama Public Library Service may not purchase a blanket automobile liability insurance policy to cover employees who operate state vehicles in the performance of their duties where the vehicles are not considered "high risk" vehicles. If an employee cannot obtain a liability rider because of the lack of a personal automobile insurance policy, the employee should obtain liability insurance to cover him while driving a state vehicle, and the Public Library service, in its discretion, may reimburse him for such policy.

Employees of the Mobile Public Library are entitled to participate in political activities at the state or county level.

A parent of a minor child has the right to inspect the registration and circulation records of any school or public library that pertain to his or her child. The library may adopt policies in these regards.

The Orange Beach Public Library Board has the authority to elect and supervise the Library Director and other library employees who are also city employees subject to city personnel policies.

A city has no authority to dissolve its public library board and continue to operate a free public library under Code of Alabama 1975, s 11-90-1.

A library may not disclose the circulation records of library users to a collection agency to aid in the recovery of overdue materials.

Gasoline purchased at a retail dealer by a joint public library board estab­lished under Section 11-90-4 for use in a bookmobile is not exempt from either of the gasoline excise taxes specified in Sections 40-17-31 and 40-17-220.

Relationship between joint library services and munici­pal governments discussed.

A free public library board may be the employer of its personnel. Where the munic­ipality has been functioning as the employer, any change in the status of the employ­ees is subject to the cur­rent conditions of employ­ment.

The Alabama Public Library Service may establish a pol­icy of searching patron's bags and briefcases as the patron leaves, upon certain conditions.

The Town of Odenville Library may accept donations from auxiliary library members who operate a second-hand or antique shop for the pur­pose of raising funds to be donated to the library.

Hokes Bluff Library Board is not authorized to bor­row money or incur debt.

The St. Clair Library System gener­ally would not be liable for state aid funds it dispenses directly to the Pell City Library Board pursuant to a directive of the Alabama Public Library Service.

A local library board established pursuant to section 11-90-2 of the Code of Alabama does not have the authority to hold title to real property. Section 11-90-1, et seq., of the Code of Alabama does not give local library boards the power to incorpo­rate. A public library authority may be incorporated with the permission of the municipality pursuant to section 11-57-1, et seq., of the Code of Alabama. A public library authority has the power to hold title to real prop­erty.

An autonomous municipal library board in St. Clair County is not entitled to share in the tax proceeds distributed to the county library board under Act No. 79-543.

Because no one can qualify to run for the positions on the North Shelby Library Board that expire on October 1, 2000, vacancies in those positions will exist on October 1 and should be filled by a majority vote of the remaining membership of the board.

A public library whose board was replaced with a new board by its appointing authority meets the legal definition of a public library and is legally established under the Code of Alabama. If a public library has a board appointed by the governing body, the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) may distribute supplemental state aid to it as designated by law.

The library board controls the hours of the library, supervises the employees of the library, approves payment of funds that have been appropriated to the library board, and sets the salaries of its employees in coordination with the city council and applicable personnel policies.

Act No. 2001-955 does not require the filing of a Relationship Disclosure Form in transactions between the Alabama Public Library Service and public library boards or public library authorities. The act has no application to public library boards or public library authorities that are instrumentalities of local government.

When there are numerous vendors that can provide library automation services to public library systems, the exemptions permitted under section 41-16-Sl(a)(ll) and (13) of the Competitive Bid Law are not applicable. These library systems should bid both upgrades of software and new automated systems.

The City of Florence may appropriate funds to the Florence Library Foundation, Inc., for the support of the library if the city council determines that the appropriation is for a public purpose. The council may wish to contract with the Foundation for the services to be provided.

The ballot results of the election of June 28, 1988, authorize the Board of the North Shelby County Library District to collect service charges of 1.75 mills on personal property in the district.

Rules and regulations for the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) are presumed valid and enforceable. APLS can enforce, under its Rules and Regulations for Supplemental State Aid to Public Libraries, Section 520-2-2-.03 (Library Establishment, Policy and Service Requirements). APLS can require that libraries receiving funds for public libraries sign a contract with APLS and require them to meet fiscal requirements of Rule 520-2-2- .04. APLS should amend its rules and regulations in order to have the flexibility to select the type of appropriate financial statement, in lieu of an audit, to be required of some specifically named libraries in some specific instances. The types of documents APLS can require of libraries receiving funds from the State Legislature are listed in APLS Rule 520-2-2-.06.

The executive board of the Alabama Public Library Service may restrict the use of public library funds and has the authority to decertify a library that does not meet the qualifications of a public library.

The Town of Ohatchee can produce a history of the town and distribute it to public, school, and university libraries. The town cannot sell the history directly or indirectly through a nonprofit organization. A group of citizens may form an organization to produce and sell the town's history and donate the proceeds from the sale to the senior center, the library, or to the town.

Section 11-90-2 of the Code of Alabama sets the number of members of a public library board created pursuant to this section at five members. A joint library board created under section 11-90-4 may have more than five members.

State agencies are subject to the Competitive Bid Law pursuant to section 41-16-20, et seq., of the Code of Alabama. The purchase of goods or services by the Alabama Public Library Service ("APLS") for the Alabama Virtual Library ("AVL") may be exempt from the requirements of the Competitive Bid Law if the online database vendors for the AVL qualify for any of the exemptions listed in sections 41-16-21 or 41-16-75 of the Code of Alabama. Whether a vendor is a sole source is a factual determination that must be made by APLS with the approval of the Finance Department, Division of Purchasing.

The Tuscaloosa Public Library is exempt from the payment of sales taxes under the exemption found in section 40-23-4(a)(ll) of the Code of Alabama.

The provisions of section 36-29-14(f) of the Code of Alabama requiring a six-month notice of withdrawal and the payment of claims incurred prior to the date of withdrawal apply to the request of the - North Shelby Library for withdrawal from the Local Government Health Insurance Program.

The authority given to the Alabama Public Library Service ("APLS") in section 41-8- 5 of the Code of Alabama allows APLS to rent available space in its building to other state agencies and to charge state agencies and nonstate organizations for the use of APLS meeting room spaces.

Act 2010-442 was ratified on November 2, 2010, and took effect on October 1, 2011. Thus, the Chambers County Probate Judge and Chambers County Revenue Commissioner should no longer collect an assessment and/or collection fee in regards to the library two mil ad valorem tax for the tax period that commenced on October 1, 2011.

The requirements of sections 40-8-1 and 40-8-4 of the Code of Alabama do not apply to the service charges collected by the North Shelby Library District. Properties exempted from fees and charges pursuant to the provisions of chapter 9 of title 40 of the Code are exempt from the service charges of the North Shelby Library District.

If personnel of the Tuscaloosa Public Library have knowledge of the commission of a specific criminal offense by a patron on library property, including viewing child pornography on the internet on a library computer, personnel may report the patron to law enforcement by furnishing the patron's registration records. In making such a report of viewing child pornography, library personnel may also furnish any other information concerning computer use for that purpose.

The North Shelby County Library District is a "political subdivision" under section 13A-11-61.3 of the Code of Alabama.

Libraries – Public LIBRARY Service – Funds – Rules and Regulations
The Alabama Public LIBRARY Service lacks the direct authority to impose mandatory guidelines on local public libraries regarding age-inappropriate material but may condition funding to local public libraries on implementation of such guidelines and may cancel or suspend its recognition of local public libraries or local librarians that refuse to follow them.

Pursuant to the Joint Resolution and state law, the Autauga County Commission's authority over the Library Board is limited to appointing
members and appropriating funds and the Library Board is responsible for the daily operation of the Library.