Alabama § 45-49-84 - Establishment and Maintenance; Library Fee; Law Library Fund.

§ 45-49-84. Establishment and Maintenance; Library Fee; Law Library Fund.

(a) The County Commission of Mobile County is authorized to establish and maintain a public law library in the county and, to accomplish that purpose, may, from time to time, expend public funds of the county, as are not required by law to be expended for any other purpose or purposes; to provide suitable housing quarters, furniture, fixtures, and equipment therefor; to keep the same in a good state of maintenance and repair; and, from time to time, to enlarge, expand, and improve the library, facilities, and equipment; and, from time to time, to provide books, reports, and periodicals for the library as are not provided for out of the proceeds of the special fund created by this section or otherwise; and to pay the salaries of a librarian and other personnel as may be necessary and proper to operate the same, to the extent that such salaries are not paid out of the proceeds of the special fund; which expenditures, from time to time, shall be made on warrants drawn in the usual manner, upon the county treasurer, payable out of the appropriate fund or funds.

(b) For the support and maintenance of the public law library, a library fee of two dollars ($2) shall be paid in all causes and cases of whatever nature in the district and circuit courts of Mobile County, to be collected as other court costs are collected and paid at the same time as docket or filing fees are paid. The library fees shall be paid in all proceedings wherein a docket or filing fee is paid.

(c) The sums herein provided to be paid to the Treasurer of Mobile County, shall be kept by him or her in a separate fund designated as Mobile County Law Library Fund and shall be expended by the presiding judge of the Circuit Court of Mobile County, for maintaining the law library. The presiding judge shall draw warrants on the treasurer for expenditures by him or her indicating on the warrants the funds against which the warrants are drawn. The fund shall be used primarily to purchase books and periodicals, and to pay the salaries of personnel, as may in the opinion of the presiding judge be advisable, but to the extent not so used the funds may be otherwise expended for the maintenance of the library. The management of the law library is vested in the presiding judge and all books or other property purchased with the funds produced by this section shall be the property of Mobile County. The judge may from time to time sell or exchange any books, reports, periodicals, and personal property, and apply the proceeds of the sale thereof, or the value thereof, upon the purchase of other books, reports, periodicals, and personal property for use in the library, and the judge may accept any gift or loan of any books, reports, periodicals, and property for public use in the library upon such terms and conditions as may be stipulated by the donor or lender thereof and as may be agreeable to the judge. The presiding judge may appoint such personnel as may be necessary or proper to operate the library and, to the extent that circumstances permit, may designate the circuit clerk, or one or more deputy circuit clerks, to operate the same or to assist therein.

(d) The items of cost above referred to shall be designated in the respective courts as law library fee and when any part of the costs in a case or proceeding shall have been paid, the amount necessary for the payment of the fee shall be applied thereto before applying any of the amount paid as costs to any other item of cost. On or before the 10th day of each month, the clerk of the respective courts shall pay to the county treasurer the amounts collected for the law library fees previous to the first day of the month.