Article 4. Government of California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 11. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 4.

Every library established pursuant to this chapter shall be forever free to the inhabitants and nonresident taxpayers of the municipality, subject always to such rules, regulations, and bylaws as may be made by boards of library trustees. Any person who violates any rule, regulations, or bylaw may be fined or excluded from the privileges of the library.

The board of library trustees and the legislative body of any neighboring municipality or the board of supervisors of the county in which the public library is situated, may contract for lending the books of the library to residents of the county or neighboring municipality, upon a reasonable compensation to be paid by the county or neighboring municipality.

The title to all property acquired for the purposes of the library, when not inconsistent with the terms of its acquisition, or otherwise designated, vests in the municipality in which the library is situated, and in the name of the municipal corporation may be sued for and defended by action at law or otherwise.

Any municipal library which was established and existed on June 11, 1909, under the provisions of an act entitled "An act to establish free public libraries and reading rooms," approved April 26, 1880, is continued under the provisions of this chapter and shall be considered the same as if established under the provisions of this chapter. This chapter has no application to any library established or governed by a city charter, and any city charter is in no manner affected by this chapter.

Any ordinance establishing a library adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be repealed by the body which adopted it upon being requested to do so by 51 percent of the electors of the municipal corporation, as shown by the great register. Upon the repeal of the ordinance the library is disestablished in the municipal corporation.

Whenever the governing bodies of two or more cities or counties consolidate their existing public library services, as a joint exercise of powers under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500), Division 7, Title 1 of the Government Code, and the ownership or management of the cities' and counties' library facilities and other library assets are turned over to a newly formed joint agency, any boards of public library trustees existing prior to the consolidation, may be dissolved by ordinance.