Public Library Development: Summary of S.B. 269 - Act 150

Library Legislation Took Effect July 1, 1998

On April 20, 1998, former Governor Thompson signed into law the most significant revision of Wisconsin library law in more than a decade. The bill was introduced by the Joint Legislative Council and developed largely through the work of the Special Committee on Public Libraries. The final bill as amended became law on July 1, 1998 as 1997 Act 150. Wisconsin's library law, as revised by Act 150, is available as a PDF file.

The provisions in 1997 Act 150 that will probably have the greatest impact are those that relate to county library planning and funding. Under the revised county planning section of the law (Wisconsin Statutes Section 43.11), county library plans must now provide for reimbursement to public libraries for non-resident service within the system area. Also added to the statutes was a provision allowing county plans to include minimum standards of operation for public libraries in the county. Such standards take effect if approved by the county and the public library boards of at least 50 percent of the participating library municipalities which represent at least 80 percent of the population of the participating library municipalities in the county. Public libraries not meeting these standards may not be allowed exemption from the county library tax levy.

Under the county funding section of the law (Wisconsin Statutes Section 43.12), counties are now required to pay each public library in the county at least 70 percent of the cost of library services provided to residents of the county that do not maintain a public library. The only exceptions to this requirement are consolidated county libraries and counties with a population over 500,000. Cost calculations for this requirement are to be based on total library operating expenditures not including capital expenditures and expenditures of federal funds. The required minimum county payments were first made in the year 2001 (based on calendar year 1999 usage statistics).

The remaining 1997 Act 150 changes can be grouped according to whether they primarily affect individual libraries, library systems, or counties:

Individual Libraries

The following Chapter 43 changes primarily affect individual libraries:

• municipal library boards can have up to two members who are residents of any other municipality (the old law was that those members had to be from adjacent municipalities)
• terms of office for library trustees begin on a date set by ordinance or any other statute (the old law specified July 1 as the start date for trustee terms in cities of the 2nd and 3rd class)
• libraries now have until March 1 of each year to submit their annual report to DLTCL and their local municipality or county (the old law allowed until January 30)
• the board of any joint library that crosses system boundaries must decide in which system it will participate
• a town can appeal to the state superintendent a county's disapproval of its participation in a joint library with a municipality in another county
• a municipality that has withdrawn or has been expelled from a library system must meet the statutory requirements for initial participation in a library system before rejoining a library system
• qualifications for municipal exemption from the county library tax are clarified

Public Library Systems

The following Chapter 43 changes primarily affect library systems:

• system member libraries annually indicate, on a form that will go directly to the DLTCL, whether their system is adequately meeting their library's needs, and DLTCL will conduct a review if at least 30 percent of the member libraries, representing at least 30 percent of the total population of all member library municipalities, indicate that the system is not adequately meeting the needs of those libraries
• system service requirements now include professional consulting services to trustees as well as to library staff, electronic delivery of information to member libraries, back-up information services from the resource library, promotion and facilitation of library service to users with special needs, and any other services designed to meet the needs of the member libraries or system residents as determined by the system board after consultation with the member public libraries
• system boards may appoint a public library advisory committee
• system boards may exceed 20 members if the member county boards, acting jointly, decide that each member county shall have at least two system board members
• two systems may merge, upon approval of each system board, each member county board, and 51 percent of the member library boards
• if the population of a system falls below 100,000 because of withdrawal of member libraries or counties, the system must merge with an existing system within two years
• new systems must have a population of at least 200,000
• the DPI must submit a budget request for statewide library system funding that equals 13 percent of anticipated total local and county library funding
• the second year after state system funding reaches the 13 percent index level, the system funding formula's expenditure factor will be reduced from 4 percent to 2 percent (subsequently, the statutory system aid formula was changed so that each system receives the same percentage increase-based on the overall increase in state aid-until system funding equals 11.25 percent of library expenditures from local and county funding, which would trigger a revised funding formula)

Counties

The following changes primarily affect counties. These are in addition to the county library planning and funding provisions discussed above.

• a county can withdraw from a multi-county library system with the approval of the governing bodies of member library municipalities representing at least 80 percent of the total population of the county's member library municipalities
• before joining a new library system, a county must meet all statutory requirements for system membership, including approval of a new county library plan
• county maintenance of effort requirements are clarified for situations in which a municipality in a county exempts itself from the county library tax for the first time

---

If you have any questions on Act 150, contact one of the following Public Library Development team staff:

Mike Cross,  John DeBacher

WI Dept. of Public Instruction
Division for Libraries and Community Learning — Public Library Development
125 S. Webster St. Madison WI 53707

For questions about this information, contact John K. DeBacher (608) 266-7270

Last updated on 2/18/2009 3:11:02 PM