Chapter I PRELIMINARY

(1) This Act may be called the Karnataka Public Libraries Act, 1965. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Karnataka. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (1) 'academic library' means a library maintained by a university, college, school or research institution; (2) 'aided library' means a library declared by the Director of Public Libraries to be eligible for aid from the Government in accordance with the rules made under this Act; (3) 'book' includes,- (i)every volume,part or division of a volume, and pamphlet, in any language; (ii)every sheet of music, map, chart or plan separately printed or lithographed: (iii)newspapers, periodicals and other such materials; (4) 'Chief Librarian' means the Librarian appointed to be in charge of a City Central Library or a District Central Library and other Libraries and the library service under the control of a City Library Authority or a District Library Authority, as the case may be; (5) 'City Library Authority' means a Library Authority constituted for a city or other urban area under sections 16 and 17; (6) 'State-owned Library' means a library maintained by a Department of the State Government, the State Legislature, the High Court or any other court or any authority of the State; (7) 'district' means a revenue district; (8) 'District Library Authority' means a Library Authority constituted for a district under sections 16 and 18; (9) 'library cess' means a cess levied under section 30; (10) 'Local Library Authority' means a City Library Authority or a District Library Authority; (11) 'notification' means a notification published in the official Gazette; (12) 'outlier library' means any library other than a public library; (13) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (14) 'public library' means,- (a)a library established or maintained by a Local Library Authority, including the branches and delivery stations of such library; (b)a library established or maintained by the State Government and declared open to the public; (c)a library established or maintained by any local authority and declared open to the public; (d)a library declared to be eligible for aid and receiving aid from the State Government; and includes, any other library notified by the State Government as a public library for the purposes of this Act; (15) 'State Central Library' means the library declared to be the State Central Library under Chapter VI; (16) 'Director of Public Libraries' means the Director of Public Libraries appointed under this Act; (17) 'State Library Authority' means the Authority constituted under section 3; (18) 'year' means the financial year.

(1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the State Government shall, by notification, constitute for the purposes of this Act, an authority to be called the State Library Authority. Such authority shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and to contract, and may by the same name sue and be sued. (2) The State Library Authority shall consist of,- (a) the Minister in charge of Public Libraries who shall ex-officio be the President of the Authority; (b) four persons elected by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from among its members; (c) two persons elected by the Karnataka Legislative Council from among its members; (2) (d) one person elected by the Syndicate of each of the Universities in the State from among the members of the Syndicate; Explanation.- For purposes of this clause, in respect of the University of Agricultural Sciences, "Syndicate" means the Board of Regents. (e) one person elected by the Executive Committee of the Karnataka Library Association from among the members of the Association; (f) one person elected by the City Library Authority of the City of Bangalore from among its members; (g) one person elected by the City Library Authority of one of the cities in the State other than the City of Bangalore for which a City Library Authority is established, from among the members of such Authority, subject to the condition that such election shall be made by each City Library Authority for one term in such order or rotation as the State Government may by order determine; (h) one person elected by the District Library Authority of one of the Districts in each Revenue Division of the State from among the members of such Authority, subject to the condition that such election shall be made by each District Library Authority in every Revenue Division for one term in such order of rotation as the State Government may by order determine; (i) the Secretary to the Government, Education Department; (j) the Director of Public Instruction in Karnataka; (k) three persons nominated by the State Government who in the opinion of the State Government are experts in library science: Provided that at the first constitution of the Authority for purposes of clauses (f), (g) and (h), six persons ordinarily resident in the cities and districts of the Revenue Divisions for which the Library Authorities may be established, shall be nominated by the State Government. (3) The Director of Public Libraries shall ex-officio be the Secretary of the State Library Authority.

The State Library Authority shall advise the State Government on all matters connected with the administration of this Act, shall be the managing authority for the State Central Library, and shall exercise and perform such powers and duties conferred and entrusted to the said Authority by this Act, and such other powers and duties as may be prescribed.

If any of the bodies referred to in sub-section (2) of section 3 does not, by such period as may be prescribed, elect a person to be a member of the State Library Authority, the State Government shall, by notification, nominate to the vacancy a person qualified for election thereto; and the person so nominated shall be deemed to be a member of the Authority as if he had been duly elected by the said body.

(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the term of office of members of the State Library Authority, other than ex-officio members, shall be for a period of three years commencing from the date on which the first meeting of the Authority is held after the election or nomination of the members under section 3. (2) An outgoing member shall continue in office until the election or nomination of his successor. (3) An outgoing member shall be eligible for re-election or re-nomination.

In the event of a vacancy arising out of death, resignation, disability or otherwise, previous to the expiry of the term of office of any member of the State Library Authority, the vacancy shall be filled by election or nomination, as the case may be, of another person in the manner provided in sub-section (2) of section 3, and any person elected or nominated to fill the vacancy shall hold office only so long as the member in whose place he is elected or nominated would have held office if the vacancy had not occurred.

If any member other than an ex-officio member of the State Library Authority, during the period for which he has been nominated or elected,- (a) absents himself without excuse sufficient in the opinion of the Authority, from three consecutive meetings of the Authority; or (b) in the case of a member elected by any body referred to in sub-section (2) of section 3, ceases to be a member of the body concerned, his office in the Authority shall become vacant.

A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the State Library Authority,- (a) if he has been sentenced by a criminal court for an offence involving moral turpitude and punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding three months, such sentence not having been subsequently reversed, quashed or remitted, unless he has, by order, which the State Government is hereby empowered to make in this behalf, been relieved from the disqualification arising on account of such sentence; (b) if he is an undischarged insolvent; (c) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court.

(1) The State Library Authority shall meet at least twice a year on dates to be fixed by the President. One of such meetings shall be the annual meetings. (2) The President may also, whenever he thinks fit, convene a special meetings of the Authority for the transaction of urgent business. (3) Subject to prescribed conditions special meetings shall be convened by the President to discuss matters of urgent importance upon a requisition by the members of the Authority. (4) Two-fifths of the total number of members of the Authority, shall be the quorum for a meeting of the State Library Authority. (5) The President, if present, shall preside at every meeting of the Authority. In the absence of the President, the members present at the meeting shall choose one from among themselves to preside.

The State Library Authority shall transact business in such manner and in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed.