may hereafter be offered by Andrew Carnegie, or any er person, asociation or corporation, and comply with conditions upon which said donations may be offered 1 accepted, and make the terms of said contract perpetly binding upon said city and county; and said general uncil of the city and fiscal court of the county shall anally levy such special tax as may be necessary to comply ch said conditions or terms of contract, and to provide sums of money agreed therein to be paid annually and petually for the maintenance of said public library, d shall cause the same to be collected as and when other tes are collected and paid over promptly to the board of stees of the public library.

2. Inasmuch as Andrew Carnegie has made an offer to propriate fifty thousand dollars for the establishment a public library in one of such cities, on condition that >per provision is made for an annual sum of five thouid dollars perpetually, for the maintenance of the liary so established, and it being desirous that said propoion shall be accepted at once, an emergency is declared exist, and this act shall take effect from and after its Ssage.

Approved March 21, 1902.

CHAPTER 71.

ACT providing for the establishment and maintenance of free ublic libraries in cities of the first class.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Kentucky:

§ 1. That any city of the first class may establish and intain within its corporate limits a free public library, th circulating and reference departments and reading oms, or any of them, for the use and benefit of the sidents thereof, with such branches and stations as the

board of trustees, hereinafter provided, may, from time to time, deem proper or necessary. All the uses and privileges of such library shall forever be free and equal to all residents of such city, subject only to the rules and regulations established by the board of trustees. But said board may extend the privilege and use of such library and reading rooms to persons residing outside of such city, upon such terms and conditions as said board may, from time to time, by its regulations, prescribe.

§ 2. The general council of any such city may, by ordinance, signify its purpose or intent to establish a free library under the provisions of this act, and, when it shall have so ordained or resolved, the said city shall thereafter be treated as having exercised its discretion to establish such library and the subsequent provisions of this act shall then become operative.

§ 3. The mayor of any such city shall, as soon as practicable after the passage of this ordinance, name twelve trustees, three for a term of one year, three for a term of two years, three for a term of three years, and three for a term of four years; and shall thereafter, in the month of each succeeding year corresponding to the month in which the first appointments are made, in the same manner nominate three trustees for a term of four years. No person shall be eligible to the office of trustee who is not, at the time of his selection, a taxpayer and qualified voter in the city and has not resided therein for two years prior to his selection, and no salary or other compensation shall ever be paid to or received by such trustee for the performance of the duties of his office. The said twelve trustees, together with the mayor of said city, who shall be a trustee by virtue of his office, shall constitute and be styled the Board of Trustees of the Free Public Library, and by said title shall be a corporation with power to make such rules and regulations to govern itself, and for

he control, management and use of the property entrusted o its care as it may be deemed proper, not, howeyer, in onflict with this act, or with the Constitution or laws of his State or of the United States, with power to contract nd be contracted with, sue and be sued, to defend and be efended in all courts, to acquire by gift, purchase or othervise, and to hold real and personal property to the use of he public library, for the purpose and intent for which he same may be granted or dedicated; to use, manage nd improve, sell and convey, rent or lease property; to rect suitable building or buildings; to have a common eal and change it at pleasure, and to act with or without seal. Vacancies in the office of trustee shall be reported y the board to the mayor, and shall be filled in like anner as the original appointments. The said trustees hall, before entering upon the duties of their offices, hake oath or affirmation before some judicial officer of his Commonwealth to discharge the duties enjoined on hem.

§ 4. The board shall meet once each month, and oftener E necessary, for the transaction of its business. A maority of the board shall constitute a quorum, but no apropriation of money, except for ordinary or current expenditures, shall be made unless upon the affirmative ote of a majority of its members. Except for the purose of erecting the library building, the board of trusees shall not incur liabilities for any current year in xcess of its annual income, including gifts and donations nd unexpended balances from previous years. The oard shall, at the first meeting after the selection of Is members, and annually thereafter, select out of their umber a president and vice president, whose duties shall e prescribed by its rules and regulations, and it may hoose a secretary and treasurer and such other officers, gents and servants as it may deem proper and necessary,

and may prescribe the duties required of them, fix their compensation, and may remove its appointees at pleasure.

§ 5. All moneys due the board shall be deposited in some chartered bank in said city, to be selected by it, and funds shall be withdrawn from said bank only on order of the board by check of its treasurer countersigned by its president, or by its vice-president when acting in his stead.

§ 6. To raise money for the establishment and maintenance of the library, the general council shall annually, in its levy ordinance, cause to be levied and collected a tax of not less than two and one-half cents or more than four cents on each one hundred dollars' worth of property assessed for taxation for city purposes. Upon the completion of assessment of property for taxation the amount levied as above shall, annually, be passed to the credit of the library fund upon the books of the city treasurer, and the said amount, as collected, shall be paid over to the board of trustees by the city treasurer in regular weekly installments, the first payment to be made within one week after the collection of said amount shall have begun, and the other payments to be made weekly thereafter, in current money, by said treasurer, as collected. The board shall annually, in the month of September, make a report to the general council, showing the use of the library for the fiscal year ending the last day of August preceding, the receipts and expenditures of all moneys handled by it during the year, and giving such other information as may promote the usefulness of said library to the public, or may be called for by the general council. No portion of the property or fund held or raised for library purposes shall ever be applied to the support of any 'library not exclusively under the control and management of the board of trustees as herein provided.

§ 7. The board of trustees may accept such gifts and donations of property, real and personal, to be used for

le purposes contemplated by this act, upon such terms nd conditions not in conflict with the Constitution and ws of this Commonwealth, as may be agreed upon by he said board of trustees, of the one part, and the donor, f the other part, and the title of the property, as may e so given or donated, shall be vested in such board of rustees, and the city wherein such library may be situted may be a party to any deed or instrument of transfer ›r the purpose of carrying out such arrangement pertain ig thereto as it may lawfully make; and for the purpose f acquiring all property of other corporations, or libra es, or societies, as may by contract or aggrement under : be transferred from such library or association to it. § 8. The general council of such city shall have power o pass such ordinances imposing suitable penalties for he punishment of persons committing injury to the brary, or upon the grounds or other property thereof, or may be guilty of disorderly conduct in or about the prem. ses of the said library, and for injury to or failure to eturn any books belonging to said library, under its rules nd regulations, as the board of trustees may recommend. § 9. In order that there may be no delay in carrying ut the provisions of this act, an emergency is declared to xist, and this act shall take effect and be enforced upon Es approval by the Governor.

§ 10. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act re hereby repealed.

Approved March 21, 1902.