Trustee Support Resources

Organizing the board is the first step toward realizing its goals. Sample job positions for the following positions may provide a framework for delineating the roles of board members. Typical roles include:

• Chair
• Vice Chair
• Secretary 
• Treasurer 
• Library Trustee

In some cases, boards may choose to have the library director authorized to do the work of the secretary and/or treasurer where the director is responsible for the minutes and as financial reports and managing accounts with financial institutions.

Some boards establish a number of standing committees to address specific matters such as:

• Budget and finance;
• Buildings and equipment;
• Planning;
• Policy review and development;
• Public relations;
• Personnel.

Consider organizing your board's work through task forces:

• Task forces are a dynamic alternative to committees, designed to get specific things done;
• Task forces can focus on strategic priorities and urgent business.

The following guidelines should be kept in mind when using task forces:

• A specific task is to be achieved in a limited amount of time, usually less than 3 months;
• A trustee should be appointed leader, working with 2 or 3 others;
• Deadlines should be set to create a sense of urgency;
• The group should work on the task between, not at, board meetings;
• The task force should report on progress, outcomes, next steps, and new tasks that need to be done;
• Each board member should serve on at least 1 task force;
• Never allow task forces to turn into static committees! Task forces are designed to take SMALL steps that add up to big results.

Standing committees, as well as ad hoc committees or task forces, may include appointees that are not board members.

Committees and task forces provide options and recommendations to the board. They do not make the final decisions. The library director is also expected to provide options and recommendations for board consideration.