S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7237
I N S E N A T E
May 2, 2012
___________
Introduced by Sen. FARLEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to state aid to libraries
and library systems
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraphs b, c and d, subparagraph 1 of paragraph f, and
paragraph h of subdivision 1 of section 273 of the education law, as
amended by section 3 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2005, are
amended to read as follows:
b. In a library system which submits a plan for further development of
its central library, which plan shall be approved by the commissioner in
relation to standards for such central libraries, the amount of central
library development aid shall be:
(1) thirty-two cents per capita of the population within the chartered
area of service of such library system with a minimum amount of one
hundred five thousand dollars, and
(2) an additional seventy-one thousand five hundred dollars to the
library system for the purchase of books and materials including
nonprint materials AND ELECTRONIC RESOURCES, as defined in regulations
of the commissioner, for its central library. Ownership of library mate-
rials and equipment purchased with such central library aid provided by
this paragraph shall be vested in the public library system.
c. The sum of [ninety-four] ONE DOLLAR AND SIXTY-TWO cents per capita
of population of the area served.
d. [(1) An amount equal to the amount by which expenditures by the
library system for books, periodicals, binding and nonprint materials
during the preceding fiscal year exceeds forty cents per capita of popu-
lation of the area served but the total apportionment pursuant to this
subparagraph shall not exceed sixty-eight cents per capita of population
served. In the first year in which any library system changes its
reporting from the calendar year to a fiscal year other than the calen-
dar year, it shall file any additional reporting schedules deemed neces-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15511-02-2
S. 7237 2
sary by the commissioner for the purpose of determining state aid for
the calendar year.
(2)] Each public library system with an automation program to support
bibliographic control and interlibrary sharing of information resources
of member libraries, and to coordinate and integrate the automated
system or systems of such member libraries consistent with regulations
of the commissioner, shall be eligible to receive an amount equal to
[seven] THREE percent of the amount earned in [subparagraph one] PARA-
GRAPH C of this [paragraph] SUBDIVISION, or seventy-six thousand five
hundred dollars, whichever is more.
(1) Local library services aid. Except in cities with a population in
excess of one million inhabitants, each chartered and registered public
and free association library meeting standards of service promulgated by
the commissioner, and each public or free association library serving a
city with a population of one hundred thousand or more which merged with
the public library system on or before January first, nineteen hundred
seventy-six and which meets standards of service promulgated by the
commissioner, shall be eligible to receive annually thirty-one cents per
capita of the population of the library's chartered service area as on
file with the commissioner on January first of the calendar year for
which aid is payable, or, thirty-one cents per capita of the population
of the city with a population of one hundred thousand or more whose
public or free association library merged with the public library system
on or before January first, nineteen hundred seventy-six, with a minimum
amount of one thousand five hundred dollars, except that no library
shall receive less than the amount of local library services aid
received in two thousand [one] ELEVEN. Regulations of the commissioner
shall provide a method for establishing changes in chartered service
areas or determining populations thereof. Local library services aid
shall be paid to the system for distribution within thirty days of
receipt to its member libraries in accordance with this subdivision.
Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of this subparagraph, the
commissioner shall establish procedures under which a public or free
association library may apply for a waiver of the requirements of the
standards of service[; provided, however, that any such waivers may only
be granted in the same year in which the commissioner has apportioned a
reduction adjustment].
h. [(1)] Coordinated outreach AND YOUTH services. Each public library
system which provides coordinated outreach AND YOUTH services, as
defined by regulations to be promulgated by the commissioner, to persons
who are educationally disadvantaged or who are members of ethnic or
minority groups in need of special library services, or who are unem-
ployed and in need of job placement assistance, or who live in areas
underserved by a library, or who are blind, physically disabled, have
developmental or learning disabilities, or who are aged or confined in
institutions, shall be entitled to receive annually [forty-three]
SIXTY-FIVE thousand dollars and thirteen cents per capita of the total
population of the area served.
[(2) Adult literacy grants. The commissioner shall award annual grants
for approved expenses for library-based programs conducted by public
library systems and public and free association libraries which are
members of a public library system to assist adults to increase their
literacy skills. The commissioner shall award such grants having deter-
mined that such programs are being operated in direct coordination with
local public schools, colleges and other organizations which are operat-
ing similar adult literacy programs. Annual state aid of two hundred
S. 7237 3
thousand dollars shall be awarded for grants in accordance with regu-
lations promulgated by the commissioner. Ninety percent of the amount of
any such adult literacy grant shall be payable to the library or system
upon approval by the department. The final ten percent shall be payable
upon completion of the project.
(3) Family literacy grants. The commissioner shall award annual grants
for approved expenses for library-based family literacy programs for
pre-school and school age children and their parents conducted by public
library systems and public libraries and free association libraries
which are members of a public library system. Annual state aid of three
hundred thousand dollars for grants shall be awarded in accordance with
regulations promulgated by the commissioner. Ninety percent of the
amount of any such family literacy grant shall be payable to the library
or system upon approval by the department. The final ten percent shall
be payable upon completion of the project.]
S 2. Subdivisions 7 and 11 of section 273 of the education law, subdi-
vision 7 as amended by section 3 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of
2005, subdivision 11 as added by section 3 of part A-5 of chapter 58 of
the laws of 2006, are amended to read as follows:
7. Conservation and preservation of library research materials. a. The
commissioner shall award, BY JULY FIRST in any state fiscal year, an
annual FORMULA grant of one hundred [twenty-six] FIFTY-EIGHT thousand
dollars for a program of conservation and/or preservation of library
research materials to each of the following comprehensive research
libraries: Columbia university libraries, Cornell university libraries,
New York state library, New York university libraries, university of
Rochester libraries, Syracuse university libraries, the research
libraries of the New York public library, state university of New York
at Albany library, state university of New York at Binghamton library,
state university of New York at Buffalo library, and state university of
New York at Stony Brook library.
b. To be eligible for such FORMULA grants, each such comprehensive
research library must submit both a five-year plan and an annual program
budget. The plan must satisfy criteria to be established by the commis-
sioner in regulations relating to the identification of library research
materials, the need for their preservation, and the means of their
conservation.
c. [Additional grants, the sum of which shall not exceed three hundred
fifty thousand dollars in any state fiscal year, may be made to any or
all of the eleven comprehensive research libraries for preservation
and/or conservation of library research materials on the basis of
project proposals. Approval of such proposals, and determination of
funding level, shall be based upon their contribution to development of
cooperative programs and/or facilities for conservation and/or preserva-
tion works in the state, including but not limited to such factors as:
institutional commitment to development of a collective capacity and
coordinated approach to conservation and preservation of research mate-
rials important to the people of the state; research value of materials
to be preserved and/or conserved; appropriateness of conservation and
preservation techniques in accordance with statewide planning and
national standards; institutional capacity for successful completion of
the project, including facilities, experience, and technical expertise;
availability of staff with appropriate training and expertise; contrib-
ution of the institution to the project in matching funds and staff
resources; and volume of interlibrary lending and access to holdings by
the public. Ninety percent of each such grant shall be payable upon
S. 7237 4
approval by the department and the remaining ten percent shall be paya-
ble upon project completion.
d.] Other agencies and libraries, as defined in regulations promulgat-
ed by the commissioner, which are not eligible for funding under para-
graph a of this subdivision, may receive separate grants the sum of
which shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars in any state fiscal
year to support the preservation and/or conservation of unique library
research materials. Such agencies and libraries shall submit proposals
which shall be evaluated and determinations of approval and funding
shall be made [on the same basis set forth in paragraph c of this subdi-
vision]. Ninety percent of each such grant shall be payable upon
approval by the department and the remaining ten percent shall be paya-
ble upon project completion.
[e.] D. Funds made available under the provisions of this section may
be used by comprehensive research libraries and other agencies eligible
for funding to obtain matching funds from the national endowment for the
humanities preservation program.
[f.] E. The commissioner shall establish an office for coordination of
conservation and/or preservation of library research materials to iden-
tify the conservation and/or preservation needs of libraries within the
state, to assess the technology available for such conservation and
preservation, and to coordinate the conservation and preservation
efforts resulting from this legislation.
11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each
year commencing with the two thousand [six] TWELVE calendar year, no
library or library system shall receive less aid pursuant to this
section or section two hundred seventy-one or two hundred seventy-two of
this part than it would have been eligible to receive for the two thou-
sand [one] ELEVEN calendar year solely by reason of a decrease in the
population of the area served as a result of the latest approved federal
census.
S 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
have been in full force and effect on and after April 1, 2012; provided,
that the amendments to paragraph h of subdivision 1 of section 273 of
the education law made by section one of this act shall take effect
April 1, 2013; and provided further, that the amendments to paragraphs
a, c, d, e and f of subdivision 7 of section 273 of the education law
made by section two of this act shall take effect April 1, 2014.