About

The Dutchess County Library Association is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to:

  • Seek funding opportunities that can be used for the benefit of all Dutchess County residents.
  • Educate the trustees of all member libraries on issues relating to library service in New York State.
  • Educate each other by the discussion of topics of librarianship in general and those specific to the libraries in Dutchess County.
  • Make procedural and best-practice recommendations specific to Dutchess County libraries.

There are 22 libraries in Dutchess County. Each is as unique as the community they serve. While the county libraries are wonderfully diverse they are united in their passion to provide exceptional library service. We are all part of the Mid-Hudson Library System, a cooperative public library system. The Mid-Hudson Library System serves Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam, and Ulster counties and has 66 member libraries.


If you have a library card from any of the 66 libraries in our system, you can use it at any Dutchess County library. You can also return items to any library regardless of where you checked them out. We hope you’ll explore this website and your local library to see all the rich resources that are available.

Officers:

  • President: Mary De Bellis, LaGrange Association Library, mdebellis@laglib.org
  • Vice-President: Tobi Farley, Tivoli Free Library, director@tivolilibrary.org
  • Treasurer: Daniela Pulice, Pleasant Valley Library, danielapulice@gmail.com
  • Secretary: Lisa Palmer, Hyde Park Library, director@hydeparklibrary.org
Upcoming Meetings

Dutchess County Library Association Bylaws

Article 1. NAME
The name of the organization shall be known as Dutchess County Library Association hereafter referred to as DCLA or Association.

Article 2. PURPOSE
This corporation is organized exclusively for one or more of the purposes as specified in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, including, for such purposes, the distribution of resources to public and association libraries chartered by the NYS Board of Regents. The purpose of DCLA is to seek funding opportunities that align with the mission of public libraries and that can be used to benefit all members; educate the trustees of all member libraries on issues relating to library service in New York State; educate each other by the discussion of topics of librarianship in general and those specific to the libraries in Dutchess County; make procedural and best-practice recommendations specific to Dutchess County libraries and, when appropriate, to MHLS Advisory Committees.

Article 3. MEMBERSHIP
Membership in DCLA is open to all Mid-Hudson Library system libraries in Dutchess County upon payment of annual dues which is assessed each year by vote as described in Article 7.  Members not in good standing may continue to attend meetings, however, they will be prohibited from voting.

Article 4.  FINANCIAL

The fiscal year shall be the calendar year.  The President, Vice-President, and Treasurer shall have the authority to sign checks for membership-approved disbursements and bills.

Article 5. REPRESENTATION

Each member library shall be represented by the Director/Manager who is empowered to cast one vote on all matters that come before the Association as set forth in Article 7. 

Article 6. MEETINGS

There shall be a minimum of four (4) regular meetings a year.  The meeting schedule will be determined at the last meeting of the previous year, decided by consensus.  Meetings can either be in person or remote as conditions dictate.  Ten members shall constitute a quorum.

Article 7. Voting

A vote is required for any decisions relating to funding; procedural recommendations may be subject to a vote depending on the extent that the vote encumbers a member library.  Any item requiring a vote should be listed on the agenda as an Action Item.  Action Items shall have a brief explanation in writing and shall be distributed at least 7 days prior to a meeting.

A quorum of ten libraries (10) is required for a vote, and a majority will be considered ten (10) votes.

Only directors of libraries in good standing may vote, however, if unable to attend a meeting at which a vote is scheduled a director may inform the chair in advance by email that they are exercising their proxy vote, which is defined as one person casting a vote as a representative of another.  The proxy may be an employee of the absent director or another director who is present at the meeting.

Voting may only take place at a scheduled meeting. Email may be used for discussion but not for conducting a ballot.

Article 8. OFFICERS

There shall be four officers; President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Any director is eligible to serve as an officer; all members are encouraged to participate in governance.  Interested directors should inform the secretary by the October meeting.  In the event that two or more directors are interested in the same position, the DCLA will strive to come to an arrangement by consensus. Preference is generally given to the person who has either not served in the past, or has not served in that capacity recently. Officers will be affirmed by DCLA at the November meeting.

The President shall prepare and distribute the agenda, preside at the regular meeting, find an alternate location should a scheduled library suddenly be unable to host, decide to cancel or reschedule a regular meeting due to external circumstances such as poor weather conditions, act as liaison to the Mid-Hudson Library System and the Director’s Association, and write all official correspondence.

The Vice-President, in the event of the absence or disability of the President, or of a vacancy in that office, shall assume and perform the duties and functions of the President.

The Secretary shall write and distribute the minutes, and maintain a digital file of documents.  All members will have access to the uploaded files.

The Treasurer shall be the disbursing officer of the Association and shall perform such duties as generally devolve upon the office including prepare and distribute monthly financial statements, bill and collect annual dues, pay bills, maintain bank accounts including reconciliation and making deposits.  

Article 9. TERMS

Officers serve one-year terms starting on January 1 and may serve for an unlimited number of terms with a maximum of two being sequential.

Article 10.  CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, its members, directors, officers, or any other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes of the Association.

Whenever a director or officer has a financial or personal interest in any matter coming before the board of directors, the affected person shall a) fully disclose the nature of the interest and b) withdraw from discussion, lobbying, and voting on the matter.

Article 11. AMENDMENTS

Changes to this document may be enacted by the voting procedures described herein; however, a two-thirds (2/3) majority is required in order to pass.

Article 12   DISSOLUTION

In the event that DCLA dissolves, upon dissolution, any assets remaining after the association’s debts and liabilities are paid, must be distributed to another 501 (c) (3) organization.

Approved November 17, 2024