(a) The system board shall appoint a librarian of the library system on the basis of merit and experience. Such librarian shall be a graduate of a library school accredited by the American Library Association. The librarian shall be the administrative, executive and supervisory officer of the library and secretary to the system board. The librarian shall serve at the discretion of the system board.

(b) The librarian may appoint and remove staff members and other employees.

(c) The system board may establish or participate in employee retirement and health insurance programs either for the exclusive benefit of its staff or jointly and, in conjunction with city, county, state, or other retirement systems, may expend upon authorization of the board funds allocated by the board for such purposes.