Chapter 43

43.15(1) (1) Population. The territory within the system shall:

43.15(1)(a) (a) Have a population of 100,000 or more. If, because of the withdrawal or realignment of participating counties, a public library system has fewer than 3 participating counties and a population under 200,000, the remaining parts of the system shall realign with an existing system within 2 years after the date on which the population falls below 200,000.

43.15(1)(b) (b) After July 1, 1998, no new system may be established unless it serves a population of at least 200,000.

43.15(2) (2) Financial support. Each county proposed to be included within a system shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the division, its ability to provide adequate funding to implement the plan submitted under s. 43.11 (3) and the report submitted under s. 43.13 (1).

43.15(3) (3) Territory included.

43.15(3)(a) (a) A consolidated system shall consist of one county only. A federated system shall consist of one or more counties.

43.15(3)(b) (b) No more than one system may be established within a single county. If the territory of a municipality lies in 2 or more counties which are not in the same public library system, the municipal library board or, if no such board exists, the municipal governing body shall determine the system in which the municipality will participate.

43.15(3)(c) (c) If the territory of a joint library lies in 2 or more counties that are not in the same public library system, the joint library board or, if no such board exists, the governing bodies of the municipalities and counties that created the joint library shall determine the system in which the joint library will participate.

43.15(4) (4) Method of organization.

43.15(4)(a) (a) A public library system may be organized as a single-county federated public library system, a multicounty federated public library system, or a single-county consolidated public library system. Two public library systems may merge with the approval of each public library system board and the county boards of the participating counties.

43.15(4)(b) (b) A county may participate in a federated public library system if it does all of the following:

43.15(4)(b)1. 1. Adopts and maintains the plan of library service submitted and approved under ss. 43.11 (3) and 43.13 (1).

43.15(4)(b)2. 2. Provides the financial support for library services required under sub. (2).

43.15(4)(b)3. 3. Enters into a written agreement with the public library system board to participate in the system and its activities and to furnish library services to residents of those municipalities in the county not maintaining a public library.

43.15(4)(c) (c) A municipal, county or joint public library may participate in a public library system if it meets all of the following requirements:

43.15(4)(c)1. 1. Is established under this chapter. A tribal college-county joint library under s. 43.57 (2m) is a library established under this chapter.

43.15(4)(c)2. 2. Is located in a county that participates in a public library system.

43.15(4)(c)3. 3. Is authorized by its municipal governing body or county board to participate in the public library system. If the library is a tribal college-county joint library, it is authorized by an agreement under s. 43.57 (2m).

43.15(4)(c)4. 4. Enters into a written agreement with the public library system board to participate in the system and its activities, to participate in interlibrary loan of materials with other system libraries, and to provide, to any resident of the system area, the same library services, on the same terms, that are provided to the residents of the municipality or county that established the member library. This subdivision does not prohibit a municipal, county, or joint public library from giving preference to its residents in library group programs held for children or adults if the library limits the number of persons who may participate in the group program, or from providing remote access to a library’s online resources only to its residents.

43.15(4)(c)6. 6. Employs a head librarian who is certified as a public librarian by the department and whose employment requires that he or she be present in the library for at least 10 hours of each week that the library is open to the public, less leave time.

43.15(4)(c)7. 7. Beginning in 2008, annually is open to the public an average of at least 20 hours each week except that for a library in existence on June 3, 2006, annually is open to the public an average of at least 20 hours or the number of hours each week that the library was open to the public in 2005, whichever is fewer.

43.15(4)(c)8. 8. Beginning in 2008, annually spends at least $2,500 on library materials.

43.15(4)(d) (d) A county may establish a consolidated public library system in which the included county and its underlying communities form a single system. The county may, for such purposes, take over and acquire any library property by consent of the authority controlling that property.

43.15(5) (5) Capital costs excluded. For the purpose of determining the amount of financial support required under sub. (4) (b) 2., amounts spent for capital projects shall be excluded.

43.15(5m) (5m) Limit. A public library system may not be established if its establishment would cause the number of public library systems to exceed the number in existence on June 3, 2006.

43.15 History History: 1971 c. 152; 1981 c. 197; 1985 a. 29, 177; 1987 a. 399; 1989 a. 286; 1991 a. 269; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1995 a. 270; 1997 a. 27, 150; 2005 a. 226, 420; 2007 a. 97; 2011 a. 32; 2015 a. 306; 2017 a. 365 s. 111.

43.15 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. PI 6.06, Wis. adm. code.

43.16 43.16 Resource libraries.

43.16(1) (1) 

43.16(1)(a) (a) Each public library system shall have at least one system resource library. Annually, prior to the expiration of its agreement with its existing system resource library, the public library system board shall negotiate with the member public library with the largest annual operating budget of all member libraries to serve as a system resource library in the following year. If the board and the proposed resource library are unable to reach an agreement for the following year before the expiration date of any existing agreements with resource libraries, the existing agreements shall be extended for one year or until an agreement is reached with that proposed resource library, whichever occurs earlier. The division shall notify the public library system board, the existing resource libraries and the proposed resource library of the extension and, during the period of extension, shall attempt to mediate an agreement between the public library system board and the proposed resource library. If the division determines that the public library system board and the proposed system resource library are unable to reach an agreement before the end of the one-year period, the division shall propose an alternative agreement, which shall be binding if it is acceptable to the proposed system resource library. If the alternative agreement is unacceptable to the proposed system resource library, the board shall negotiate with the member public library with the next largest annual operating budget of all member public libraries to serve as a system resource library in the following year.

43.16(1)(am) (am) An existing contract may be extended under par. (a) only if it was entered into on or after May 8, 1990.

43.16(1)(b) (b) The procedure under par. (a) shall be repeated with member public libraries in decreasing order of the size of their annual operating budgets until an agreement is reached with a member public library to serve as a system resource library. Except as provided in par. (a), no agreement may extend beyond December 31 of any year.

43.16(2) (2) If the member public library selected to serve as a system resource library under sub. (1) fails to meet all of the following requirements, the system board shall enter into a supplementary contract with the academic library with the largest operating budget of all academic libraries in the system area, or with a resource library in an adjacent system, that meets all of the following requirements:

43.16(2)(a) (a) The library has a collection of at least 100,000 volumes.

43.16(2)(b) (b) The library is open to the public at least 50 hours each week.

43.16(2)(c) (c) The library employs at least one full-time, permanent reference librarian with a master’s degree in library science.

43.16 History History: 1989 a. 286.

43.17 43.17 Public library systems; general provisions.

43.17(1) (1) Board terms. Every public library system shall be governed by a board appointed under s. 43.19 or 43.21. No person employed by a public library that is a member of a public library system may be appointed to the public library system board. Upon the initial establishment of a board, the members shall be divided as nearly as possible into 3 equal groups to serve for terms expiring on January 1 of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years, respectively, following their appointment. Thereafter, regular terms shall be for 3 years and shall commence on January 1. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as regular appointments are made.

43.17(2) (2) Board organization and meetings. As soon as practicable after the initial establishment of a system, and thereafter in January of each year, the board shall organize by the election, from among its members, of a president and such other officers as it deems necessary. The board shall meet at least once every 2 months.

43.17(2m) (2m) Advisory committee. Every public library system may appoint a public library advisory committee to, among other things, advise the system board about the status and needs of libraries in the system, serve as a conduit of information between the system board and individual libraries in the system and make recommendations to the system board relating to libraries in the system.

43.17(3) (3) Fiscal year. The fiscal year of each federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties shall be the calendar year.

43.17(4) (4) System administration. Notwithstanding ss. 59.17 (2) (br) and 59.18 (2) (b), responsibility for administration of a public library system shall vest in a head librarian who shall be appointed by and directly responsible to the public library system board.

43.17(5) (5) Annual report. Annually, at the time required by the division, each public library system shall report to the division on its operations, expenditures and territory served during the preceding year, shall submit a plan describing the program for library service to be carried out in the subsequent year and shall furnish such other information as the division requires.

43.17(6) (6) Cooperative services. A public library system may contract with another such system, or with other libraries, library organizations or resource centers within this state or in adjacent states, to provide or receive library services.

43.17(7) (7) Existing employees. No person employed by a participating public library at the time of the establishment of a public library system shall lose, because of such establishment, any salary, fringe benefit or other employment rights in existence at that time.

43.17(8) (8) Retirement. If any employee of a participating employer under the Wisconsin retirement system becomes, by virtue of the establishment of a public library system, an employee of that library system, the library system shall become a participating employer under the Wisconsin retirement system.

43.17(9) (9) Contracts, bidding and borrowing.

43.17(9)(a) (a) All contracts for public construction made by a federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties or by a federated public library system whose territory lies within a single county with a population of at least 750,000 shall be let by the public library system board to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with s. 62.15 (1) to (11) and (14). For purposes of this section, the system board possesses the powers conferred by s. 62.15 on the board of public works and the common council. All contracts made under this section shall be made in the name of the federated public library system and shall be executed by the system board president and such other board officer as the system board designates.

43.17(9)(b) (b) A public library system board of a multicounty library system may borrow money to accomplish any of its purposes, but the outstanding amount of such loans at any time may not exceed an amount equal to the system board’s receipts for the prior fiscal year. A federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties may obtain a state trust fund loan to accomplish any of its purposes, but the outstanding amount of a federated public library system’s state trust fund loans, together with all other indebtedness of the system, may not exceed an amount equal to the system’s receipts for the prior fiscal year.

43.17(10) (10) Borrowers’ cards. Except as provided in sub. (11), all public libraries in a public library system shall honor the valid borrowers’ cards of a public library in an adjacent public library system, other than the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. The requirement under this subsection does not apply to the Milwaukee County Federated Library System.

43.17(11) (11) Cost of lending services.

43.17(11)(a) (a) In this subsection, “loan” means a unit of service that involves the checking out of a single item from a library to an individual for use outside the library for a specific period of time.

43.17(11)(b) (b) A public library in a public library system may refuse to honor valid borrowers’ cards of a public library in an adjacent public library system if, in the most recent year in which the public library honored such cards, the total amount of the reimbursement received by the public library from that adjacent public library system, and from counties and municipalities that are located in that adjacent public library system, is less than the adjusted cost incurred for that year by the public library in honoring the cards.

43.17(11)(c) (c) For purposes of par. (b), the adjusted cost shall be calculated by determining the actual cost for each loan incurred by the public library honoring the cards for a given year in the manner provided by the rules promulgated by the department under s. 43.24 (2) (n) and multiplying that amount by the remainder calculated by subtracting 500 from the total number of loans made in that year by the public library to borrowers from the adjacent public library system. For purposes of this paragraph, a renewal of a loan constitutes a separate loan.

43.17(11)(d) (d) Any reimbursement made by a county under par. (b) may not result in a reduction in the level of support for public library services provided by that county to residents of that county.

43.17(11)(e) (e) If a public library in a given public library system refuses to honor the valid borrowers’ cards from an adjacent public library system, annual meetings shall be held between representatives of the affected public library systems to discuss the resulting lack of services to the affected borrowers and the costs of providing such services. The affected public library systems shall provide the division with written minutes of these meetings.

43.17 History History: 1971 c. 152; 1981 c. 96; 1985 a. 29, 176, 177; 1985 a. 332 s. 253; 1989 a. 286; 1991 a. 272; 1993 a. 383; 1995 a. 201; 1997 a. 150; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16, 103; 2005 a. 226; 2017 a. 207 s. 5.

43.18 43.18 Withdrawal, abolition and expulsion.

43.18(1) (1) Withdrawal.

43.18(1)(ag) (ag) In this subsection, “participating municipality” means a municipality that operates a public library and is a member of a public library system.

43.18(1)(am) (am) Not less than 3 years after affiliating with a public library system, a participating municipality or a county may withdraw from the system by adoption of a resolution by a two-thirds vote of its governing body under pars. (ar) and (b), if the resolution is adopted at least 6 months prior to the close of the system’s fiscal year. The resolution shall become effective at the close of the system’s fiscal year.

43.18(1)(ar) (ar) With the approval of the governing bodies of participating municipalities that contain, according to the most recent estimate prepared under s. 16.96, at least 80 percent of the population of participating municipalities in the county, a county may withdraw from a federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties.

43.18(1)(b) (b) A participating municipality may withdraw from a federated public library system.

43.18(2) (2) Abolition. A county may abolish a public library system whose territory lies only within that county, except that a county containing a 1st class city may abolish such a public library system only with the consent of the municipalities within the system.

43.18(2m) (2m) Expulsion. With the approval of the division, a public library system may expel, or reduce aids or services to, a municipality or county that fails to meet the requirements under s. 43.15 (2) or (4).

43.18(3) (3) Procedure.

43.18(3)(a) (a) Prior to taking any action to abolish or withdraw under this section, the county board or other municipal governing body shall hold a public hearing on the proposed action and shall publish a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, of the hearing. Notice of the hearing also shall be given by registered mail not less than 30 days prior to the hearing to the governing body of every other municipality and county participating in the public library system, to the public library system board and to the division.

43.18(3)(b) (b) A municipality or county withdrawing or expelled under this section from a public library system is responsible for its allocated share of the outstanding liabilities of the system on the effective date of its withdrawal or expulsion.

43.18(3)(c) (c) Upon taking final action under this section to withdraw from or abolish a public library system, the county board or other municipal governing body shall give notice, by registered mail, of the action taken to the governing body of every other municipality and county participating in the public library system, to the public library system board and to the division.

43.18(3)(d) (d) Prior to expelling a municipality or county from a public library system, the system board shall notify the municipality or county and the division, by registered mail, of the reason for the action under consideration and shall hold a public hearing concerning the action. The system board shall file a plan for alteration of the system territory under s. 43.13 (2) by November 15 of the year preceding the year in which the expulsion will take effect under s. 43.13 (3) and the division shall adjust state aid under s. 43.24 accordingly.

43.18(3)(e) (e) A municipality or county that has withdrawn or that has been expelled from a public library system may participate in a public library system only by fulfilling the requirements for initial participation under s. 43.15 (4) (b) or (c) and by adopting a new plan of library service for the county.

43.18 History History: 1971 c. 152; 1981 c. 197; 1985 a. 29; 1997 a. 150; 1999 a. 83.

43.19 43.19 Federated public library systems.

43.19(1) (1) 

43.19(1)(a) (a) In a federated public library system whose territory lies within a single county, the system board shall consist of 7 members nominated by the county executive, or by the county board chairperson in a county without a county executive, and approved by the county board. At least 3 members of the system board, at the time of their appointment, shall be active voting members of library boards governing public libraries of participating municipalities, and at least one of these shall be a member of the library board governing the resource library. At least one but not more than 2 members of the county board shall be members of the system board at any one time.

43.19(1)(b) (b)

43.19(1)(b)1. 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., in a federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties, the system board shall consist of at least 11 and not more than 20 members nominated by the county executive in each county in the system, or by the county board chairperson in a county without a county executive, and approved by each county board in the system. Appointments shall be in proportion to population as nearly as practical, but, except as provided in subd. 2., each county shall be represented by at least one member on the system board. Each county board may appoint one county board member to the system board. The public library board governing the designated resource library shall have at least one member on the system board. The remaining system board members shall include such representatives of the library boards governing public libraries of participating municipalities and counties and public members appointed from the counties at large as the county board determines.

43.19(1)(b)2. 2. A system board appointed under subd. 1. may consist of more than 20 members if the county boards, acting jointly, determine that each county in the system shall be represented by at least 2 members on the system board.

43.19(2) (2) 

43.19(2)(a) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, a federated public library system whose territory lies within a single county shall be deemed an agency of the county and a federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties shall be deemed a joint agency of those counties. A federated public library system whose territory lies within 2 or more counties constitutes a separate legal entity for the purposes of having the exclusive custody and control of all system funds, holding title to and disposing of property, constructing, enlarging and improving buildings, making contracts and suing and being sued. A federated public library system whose territory lies within a single county with a population of 750,000 or more constitutes a separate legal entity solely for the purposes of having the exclusive custody and control of all system funds, making contracts and providing benefits to its employees under ch. 40.

43.19(2)(b) (b) A federated public library system board shall have the powers of a public library board under s. 43.58 with respect to system-wide functions and services. The local library boards shall retain responsibility for their public libraries in all other areas.

43.19 History History: 1971 c. 152; 1985 a. 177; 1993 a. 383; 1997 a. 150; 2015 a. 99; 2017 a. 207 s. 5.

43.21 43.21 Consolidated public library systems.

43.21(1) (1) In a consolidated public library system, the system board shall consist of 7 or 9 members appointed by the county board. In the initial appointment of a system board, at least 3 members of the system board, at the time of their appointment, shall be active voting members of library boards governing public libraries consolidated into the system. At least one but not more than 2 members of the county board shall be members of the system board at any one time.

43.21(2) (2) 

43.21(2)(a) (a) A consolidated public library system shall be deemed an agency of the county by which created.

43.21(2)(b) (b) A consolidated public library system board shall have the powers of a library board under ss. 43.58 and 43.60 and shall be responsible for the total program of public library service for the system territory.

43.21(3) (3) If it is consistent with the terms thereof, a gift, bequest or endowment to a public library becoming part of a consolidated public library system may be taken over by the system board. The system board shall maintain the gift, bequest or endowment for the benefit of the library to which it was given.