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Statutes and Administrative Rules

22-1-101 MCA. STATE LIBRARY COMMISSION ESTABLISHED.

  1. There is a state library commission.
  2. This commission is composed of the following members:
    1. the state superintendent of public instruction or his/her designee;
    2. five persons appointed by the governor, who shall serve staggered terms of 3 years; and
    3. a librarian appointed by the commission of higher education from one of the six units of the Montana university system, who shall serve a term of 3 years.
  3. The commission shall annually elect a chairman from its membership.
  4. The members of said commission shall be compensated and receive travel expenses as provided for in 2-15-124 MCA.

22-1-102 MCA. LIBRARIAN AND ASSISTANTS.

The commission shall employ as its executive officer a librarian, who is a graduate of an accredited library school and is not a member of the commission, for such compensation as the commission considers adequate. The executive officer shall perform the duties assigned by the commission and serve at the will of the commission. The commission may also employ such other assistants as are required for the performance of the commission's work. In addition to their salaries while on commission business, the librarian and assistants shall be allowed their travel expenses, as provided for in 2-18-501 MCA through 2-18-503 MCA, as amended.

22-1-103 MCA. STATE LIBRARY COMMISSION - AUTHORITY.

The state library commission shall have the power to:

  1. give assistance and advice to all tax-supported or public libraries in the state and to all counties, cities, towns, or regions in the state which may propose to establish libraries, as to the best means of establishing and improving such libraries;
  2. maintain and operate the state library and make provisions for its housing;
  3. accept and expend in accordance with the terms thereof any grant of federal funds which may become available to the state for library purposes;
  4. make rules and establish standards for the administration of the state library and for the control, distribution, and lending of books and materials;
  5. serve as the agency of the state to accept and administer any state, federal, or private funds or property appropriated for or granted to it for library service or foster libraries in the state and establish regulations under which funds shall be disbursed;
  6. provide library services for the blind and physically handicapped;
  7. furnish, by contract or otherwise, library assistance and information services to state officials, state departments, and residents of those parts of the state inadequately serviced by libraries;
  8. act as a state board of professional standards and library examiners and develop standards for public libraries and adopt rules for the certification of librarians; and
  9. designate areas of the establishment of federations of libraries and designate the headquarters library for such federations.