Libraries Act 1982

This Act may be cited as the Libraries Act 1982.

In this section, unless the contrary intention appears—

authorised officer—see Part 3;

Board means the Libraries Board of South Australia continued under this Act;

council has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 1999;

LGA means the Local Government Association of South Australia;

library materials means books, magazines, newspapers, records, cassettes, films, videotapes and other materials of a kind commonly lent by, or available for reference at, a library;

member means member of the Board;

occupy, in relation to premises, means have, or be entitled to, possession or control of the premises;

official insignia—see Part 3A;

premises of the Board means premises owned or occupied by the Board;

promote, in relation to an event or activity, includes organise, commission, fund, support, market, advertise or act as project manager.

The objectives to be sought in the administration of this Act are as follows:

to achieve and maintain a co-ordinated system of libraries and library services that adequately meets the needs of the whole community;

to promote and facilitate the establishment and maintenance of libraries and library services by councils and other appropriate bodies;

to promote a co-operative approach to the provision of library services;

to ensure that the community has available to it adequate research and information services providing access to library materials and information stored in libraries and other institutions both within and outside the State.

The library services referred to in subsection (1) include the lending of library materials without direct lending charge or the payment of a membership fee.

The Libraries Board of South Australia continues in existence.

The Board—

is a body corporate; and

has perpetual succession and a common seal; and

can sue and be sued in its corporate name; and

is an instrumentality of the Crown and holds property on behalf of the Crown; and

has the functions and powers assigned or conferred under this or any other Act.

The Board will consist of not more than 8 members appointed by the Governor, of whom—

3 will be persons, nominated by the LGA, who may comprise, in any combination—

council members; or

librarians employed in a public library; or

community information officers employed by a council; or

any other officers or employees of a council; or

any other persons with experience in local government; and

the remainder will be nominated by the Minister.

At least 2 members must be women and at least 2 must be men.

The Governor will appoint 1 of the members to be the presiding member.

The Governor may appoint a suitable person to be a deputy of a member (being a person nominated by the body or person who nominated the member) and the deputy may perform or exercise the functions and powers of the member in the member's absence.

A member will be appointed for a term not exceeding 3 years and on conditions determined by the Governor and specified in the instrument of appointment.

A member will, at the expiration of a term of appointment, be eligible for reappointment (subject to the qualification that a person cannot serve as a member for more than 9 consecutive years).

A member whose term of office expires may nevertheless continue to act as a member, for a period of up to 3 months, until he or she is reappointed or a successor is appointed (as the case may be).

The Governor may remove a member from office—

for misconduct; or

for failure or incapacity to carry out the duties of his or her office satisfactorily; or

for contravention of a condition of his or her appointment; or

if serious irregularities have occurred in the conduct of the Board's affairs or the Board has failed to carry out its functions satisfactorily and its membership should, in the opinion of the Governor, be reconstituted for that reason.

The office of a member becomes vacant if the member—

dies; or

completes a term of office and is not reappointed; or

resigns by written notice to the Minister; or

is convicted of an indictable offence or sentenced to imprisonment for an offence; or

ceases to satisfy the qualification by virtue of which the member was eligible for appointment to the Board; or

is absent without leave of the presiding member of the Board from 3 consecutive meetings of the Board; or

is removed from office under subsection (4).

On the office of a member becoming vacant, a person may be appointed in accordance with this Division to the vacant office.

A member is entitled to fees, allowances and expenses determined by the Governor.

A quorum of the Board consists of half of the total number of its members (ignoring any fraction resulting from the division) plus 1.

In the absence of the presiding member at a meeting of the Board, a member chosen by the members present at the meeting will preside.

A decision carried by a majority of the votes cast by members at a meeting is a decision of the Board.

Each member present at a meeting of the Board has 1 vote on any question arising for decision and, if the votes are equal, the member presiding at the meeting may exercise a casting vote.

A conference by telephone or other electronic means between members will, for the purposes of this section, be taken to be a meeting of the Board at which the participating members are present if—

notice of the conference is given to all members in the manner determined by the Board for the purpose; and

each participating member is capable of communicating with every other participating member during the conference.

A proposed resolution of the Board becomes a valid decision of the Board despite the fact that it is not voted on at a meeting of the Board if—

notice of the proposed resolution is given to all members in accordance with procedures determined by the Board; and

a majority of the members expresses concurrence in the proposed resolution by letter, fax or other written communication setting out the terms of the resolution.

The Board must meet at least 6 times in each year.

The Board must have accurate minutes kept of its proceedings.

Subject to this Act, the Board may determine its own procedures.

Subject to the directions of the Board and section 13A, this section applies to a committee of the Board in the same way as to the Board.

An act or proceeding of the Board or a committee of the Board is not invalid by reason only of a vacancy in its membership or a defect in the appointment of a member.

Subject to subsection (2), the Board is subject to the general control and direction of the Minister.

No Ministerial direction can be given—

as to the nature or content of—

library collections; or

events or activities conducted or promoted by the Board; or

suppressing the dissemination of information; or

preventing or controlling access by the public to library materials at times when the libraries in which those materials are stored are open to the public; or

as to the manner in which the Board is to deal with a testamentary or other gift; or

as to any advice or recommendation that the Board makes or is required to make to the Minister.

The Board may establish such committees (including advisory committees or subcommittees) as the Board thinks fit.

The membership and conditions of membership of a committee will be determined by the Board and may, but need not, consist of, or include, members of the Board.

The procedures to be observed in relation to the conduct of the business of a committee will be—

as determined by the Board; and

insofar as a procedure is not determined under paragraph (a)—as determined by the committee.

The Board may delegate a function or power of the Board under this Act (other than this power of delegation) to any person or committee or other body (including a person for the time being performing particular duties or holding or acting in a specified position).

A delegation under this section—

must be by instrument in writing; and

may be absolute or conditional; and

does not derogate from the power of the delegator to act in a matter; and

is revocable at will.

A function or power delegated under this section may, if the instrument of delegation so provides, be further delegated.

A delegate must not act pursuant to the delegation in any matter in which the delegate has a direct or indirect pecuniary or personal interest.

Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.

It is a defence to a charge of an offence against subsection (4) to prove that the defendant was, at the time of the alleged offence, unaware of his or her interest in the matter.

In legal proceedings, an apparently genuine certificate, purportedly signed by the Board containing particulars of a delegation under this section, will, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be accepted as proof that the delegation was made in accordance with the particulars.

A member of the Board will not be taken to have a direct or indirect interest in a matter for the purposes of the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 by reason only of the fact that the member has an interest in a matter that is shared in common with public librarians generally, or a substantial section of public librarians.