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Hon. C. Woodrow Laughlin Opinion No. O-3055
County Attorney Re: Does the Commissioners’ court ’
Jim Wells County of Jim Wells County have authority
Alice, Texas to expend funds for establishing,
maintaining and operating a book-
Dear Sir: mobile library?
Your letter of August 8, 1941 requesting the opinion
of this department upon the above state i question has been re-
ceived.
We quote from your letter as follows:
“I submit herewith for your opinion the follow-
ing question:
“‘Does the Commissioners1 Court of Jim Wells
County have authority to expend funds for establigh-
ing, maintaining and operating a bookmob$le li.brary?I
811n\11 Texas Jurisprudence 563 we find that
fcounties, being component part: of Jhe state, have
no powers or duties except i:ose which are clearly
set forth and defined and d lx& in the Constitu-
tion and statutes.1 There Is cited therein the case
of Edwards County vs. Jennings, 33 s.u. 585.
“It is provided in Article 1677, Vernon’s Anno-
tated Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, as follows:
“‘The Commissioners* Court of any ‘county may es-
tablish, maintain, and operate within their respec-
tive Counties county free libraries in the manner
and with func!ions prescribed in this title. . . .1
“Article 1679, Vernon’s Annotated Revised Civil
Statutes of Texas provides that not exceeding five
cents of the General Fond tax shall be set aside an-
nually in the event a county free library is estab-
lished.
“A bookmobile has been described to me a8 a trav-
eling library to be used only in the County and will
not be used in the city limits of Alice.
Hon. C. Woodrow Laughlin, page 2
“It is therefore the opinion of this office
that the Commissioners’ Court of Jim Wells County
has the authority to expend not exceeding five
cents of the General Fund tax for establishing,
maintaining and operating a bookmobile library.”
It is stated in Texas Jurisprudence, Vol. 11, p. 564:
“The Comalssloners~ Court of any county may
establish and maintain county free libraries in
the manner prescribed by statute.*’
In the case of City of Fort Worth, et al. v. Burnett,
et al, 115 S.W. (2d) 436, we find the follming statement:
ItWefind that the new Internat ional Encyclo-
pedia has this to say in defining a library:
‘It is generally held that the library has three
functions: (1) as a storehouse for books and
knowledge; (2) as a laboratory for study and re-
search; (3) as affording sane recreat.i.on.8w
It will be noted that Article 1678, Vernonls Annotated
Civil Statutes, provides in part:
‘1. . . The county library shall be located
at the county seat in the courthouse, unless more
suitable quarters are available.tt .
We think that it is apparent from the above quoted pro-
vision of Article 1678, supra, that the county library must be
located at the county seat and in the courthouse, unless more
suitable quarters are available. In other words we think that
the Legislature intended that the county free 11&y should be
located at the oouhty seat in the courthouse, unless as above
stated, more suitable quarters are available meaning that If
more suitable quarters are available within &he county seat, then
the county free library could be located at such quarters and
not In the courthouse.
Under Title 35, Vernon’s Armotated Civil Statutes re-
lative to county free libraries, the Commisslonerst Court o t any
county is authorized to establish and maintain the county free
library and branches or subdivisions thereof. We do not think
that the Commissioners’ Court of any county has the authority to
expend funds for establishing, maintaining and operating a “book-
mobile librsryw in 1leU of the regular county library which is
to be established at the county seat. However, if the county
Hon. C. Woolrow
Laughlin, page 3
has establishsd, and is malntalnlhg and operating a county free
library at the county seat of such county, then, we think the
Commissioners' Court is authorized to expend funds for establlsh-
ing, maintaining and operating a lfbookmoblle library" as a
branch or subdivision thereof.
Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry,
we are
Yours very truly
APPROVEDAUG21, 1941 ATTORNEY
GENERALOF TEXAS '
/s/ Gerald C. Mann
ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS By /s/ Ardell wllllams
Ardell Williams, Assistant
APPROVED:OPINION COMMITTEE
BY: GWB, CHAIRMAN
AW:GO:wb