Retiring Guy's Digest: Getting to Know Chapter 43 of the Wisconsin State Statutes: Part 10, Standards for Public Library Systems

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Getting to Know Chapter 43 of the Wisconsin State Statutes: Part 10, Standards for Public Library Systems

The current configuration

43.15 Standards for public library systems. (Created in 1971.)

A public library system shall not be established unless it meets the requirements under this section.

(1) POPULATION. The territory within the system shall:

(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.

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

(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).

1973: The first 4 public library systems

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

(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.

(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.

(4) METHOD OF ORGANIZATION.
(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.

1983: Every county except Florence, Ozaukee, and Washington

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

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

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

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.

2000: All 72 counties in 17 public library systems;
Wood, Portage, and Adams counties have moved
to South Central since 1993.
Fond du Lac will later move to Winnefox.

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

1. Is established under this chapter.

2. Is located in a county that participates in a public library system.

3. Is authorized by its municipal governing body or county board to participate in the public library system.

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 electronic database only to its residents.

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.

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.

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data 2010

8. Beginning in 2008, annually spends at least $2,500 on library materials.

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data 2010

(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.

(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.

(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.

History:
1971 Senate Bill 47. Created in 1971.
1981 Assembly Bill 829. References to "cities, villages, and towns" changed to "municipalities".
1985 Wisconsin Act 29. 43.15 (22) is amended; 43.15 is repealed and recreated..

1987 Wisconsin Act 399. 43.15 (1) (a) is amended.

1989 Wisconsin Act 286. 43.15 (4) (a) and 45.14 (4) (c) 4. are amended.

1991 Wisconsin Act 269. 43.15 (2) (c) and (d) are created; 43.15 (3) (c) 5. is amended.

1997 Wisconsin Act 27. 43.15 (4) (c) 6. is amended.

1997 Wisconsin Act 150. 43.15 (4) (c) 5. is renumbered 43.15 (4) (c) 5. (intro.) and amended.
2005 Wisconsin Act 226. 43.15 (4) (c) 4 and 43.15 (4) (c) 5. (intro.) are amended; 43.15 (5) is created.
2007 Wisconsin Act 97. 43.15 (5) of the statutes is renumbered 43.15 (5m).
2011 Wisconsin Act 32.