§ 13-2-508 — Joint municipal libraries - Joint city-county libraries

(a) When any city council or governing body of a city of the first class shall have decided to establish and maintain a public library under the terms of this subchapter, the city board of trustees of the library appointed pursuant to this subchapter in fulfilling the purposes of this subchapter may contract with the municipal authorities of a neighboring city within this state or without this state if the city limits of the neighboring city so without this state extend to the state line of this state and are contiguous to the city limits of the city of the first class within this state, whereby a common library for the residents of both cities may be established and maintained by both cities. (b) The contract shall provide for the division of the total cost of establishing, maintaining, and operating the library between the cities, even though the library is located without this state. (c) However, the contract shall become effective only from and after its ratification by a majority of the elected members of the city council or the governing body of a city of the first class. (d) (1) The city board of trustees, with the consent of its governing body of the city, and the county library board, with the consent of the county quorum court, or any group of municipal public libraries, and any combination of them, may contract with each other or among themselves to create, maintain, and support a joint city-county public library system or regional public library system or may enter into an interlocal cooperation agreement among themselves to coordinate public library services among the different jurisdictions. (2) Such a contract or interlocal agreement shall contain terms, agreements, and conditions as may be agreed upon by the city board of trustees, the county library board of trustees, the county quorum court, and the board of trustees of the several municipalities. (e) Any library or joint city-county library or other library system created under this section for coordination of library services when so established and operated shall be a public city library for all the intents and purposes of this subchapter and of Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 30. (f) This section does not repeal any existing law and shall be cumulative to the provisions of §§ 13-2-501 - 13-2-503 , 13-2-505 - 13-2-507 , and 13-2-509 .

Legislative History

Acts 1951, No. 36, §§ 1-3; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 19-3210, 19-3211, 19-3211n; Acts 1997, No. 402, § 11.