THE LIBRARY BOARD UNDER THE COUNCIL-MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT: A STUDY OF THE ROLE OF LIBRARY BOARDS IN TEXAS COUNCIL-MANAGER CITIES

In cities that have the council-manager form of government, the administrative role of the traditional library board has been substantially altered. Little is known about the character of this role in operational practice nor how the board's function is perceived by key actors in the council-manager context. This role analysis focused on the consensus on role definition among city managers, library directors, and library board members concerning the role of the board. Concepts from role theory provided the theoretical framework for understanding the library board position's structural and functional relationship to council-manager government.;The sample was comprised of fifty council-manager cities in Texas that operated public libraries, and the survey questionnaire was administered to the city managers, library directors, and library board members in each of these fifty cities. The study found that there was more disagreement than agreement among the three groups of respondents regarding their perceptions of the library board's appropriate role. Library board members consistently perceived a more prominent role for the library board in library governance than did either the library directors or the city managers. The library director was found to have the most influence on library management, followed next by the library board, then the city manager.;Tenure in position was related to library board member commitment to performance obligations. The number of professional positions on the library staff was a factor in the board's relative degree of influence in accomplishing library activities, and both the number of professional positions and the size of community were variables which related to the level of authority exercised by the board.;Community relations was found to be the only appropriate area of board involvement on which there was substantial agreement among all three groups. However, the board was also perceived to be influential in many library management activities. The research indicated that the use of the term "advisory board" has contributed to an unrealistic conception of the role played by these boards, and that further clarification of the board's role is needed to support effective role performance.