MINNIE C. BUDLONG, Chairman,
ELIZABETH B. WALES,
ASA WYNKOOP,
WILLIAM FREDERICK YUST.
June 23, 1913.
The report was accepted and the committee continued.
Miss Elizabeth B. Wales, secretary of the Missouri library commission, read the following report of the committee on charter provisions:
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CHARTER PROVISIONS
Since the meeting at Ottawa your committee has somewhat awaited the action of the council committee, which had been working on the library law of the state from the standpoint of its relation to the free will and initiative of the municipality. It was thought that the work of these committees might duplicate each other. As the report of this committee covering statute law does not seem to meet the point at issue, namely, safeguarding the interests of the library under the adoption of a new form of municipal government, your committee would make two suggestions concerning such safeguard:
1st. That it may be done by interesting the legislation of the charter bill in a definite provision establishing the public library as a city department.
2nd. That it may be done by inserting phrases in such bill, practically accepting the existing state law.
In the first case the essential points to be covered are: the provision of a proper fund, the appointment of a competent board. If all the duties of said board are settled and all its powers defined, the section will be a long and involved one. Your committee therefore recommends safeguarding the state library law as the better plan.
To do this, care must be taken to insert the proper phrases under sections which (a) define the general duties of commissioners wherever inclusive terms are used. For instance, "and have power to administer and control all other departments or activities of said city," the clause "except such as are already provided for in the statutes" would guard the library law existing; (b) under the rulings on civil service, the same clause would be effective in protecting library service, "except officers whose appointment is already otherwise provided for in the statutes"; (c) under the section concerning establishment and care of public institutions and buildings the exception must be more definite, e. g., "except that nothing in this law shall be construed to affect the existing state library law."