OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS AUSTIN

Honorable hanoia H. fienahaw Stste Librarian Austin, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-7132

Your rsquest r raoeived and considered reads as follows: torlaal~ como *discontinue ich microrilm

five to thirty-five years and become unusufrble and irmplaoeable. .. 

### 599Honorable Franois 8. HenshaW,Page 2

“3. Microfilm saves more than nlnetg percept storage apaoe and is easily and fnexpensively maintained and used -- bound newapapers require large areas for storage and are e~~peneive to maintain and ditfioultto use.

“4. :.fiororilming is lea8 expensive, oon

### sideringtotal coats, than binding.

“In other words, mlorofilming and binding are essentially the samein purpose -- preservation of valuable material -- but mlarofihing is the uore desirable process. Tunds to oarry out the authorizstlon should some fro@ either or both of the two followlng socounts : -1. Ouraocount titled 

### fBd.nding, repairs, preparation for binding’

. Beside payment for actual binding, this fund has been and ia being used for payment of salary of a book repairer whoalso prepares newspapers for binding.

“2. Our account titled ‘Gathering historioal data’

. Besides payment ror historlaal material inoluding nlcrofilm, this fund has been and is being use&to purohase equipment neceaeaaaryto uae said miorotilm.

“Would It be permissible to use either or
‘both of the above funds for the following purposes :

“1. Furchase or miOr0rih oopies 0Pnewspa,pers from publishers now microfilming their ownlssuaa.

“2. Purohase’ of equ.ipment neoessary to nlaror.1l.m newspapers not nowfilmed by their pub.llshers.

“3. Salary of an operator to do suoh tiltnlng.F&norable Pranals II. Henehaw, Peg 3



## 84ror0 we oaq anhwer your epsairla queetlone, It 1s neceasery firet. tc ooneider tha authcrity of the Teres Library eEdHlatcXifM 

### bumiaeloo. 'haCom$asfon Isoreated and its owdrs rnd **dutlre** dCi.wd b Title 89 of the Statutes P Actloles 54% - 5U6, ina. r The purpose df tha Couualssion Is stntrd la Art&lo 5435. to be to Vcntrol end ad~~ialotsr the State Library, adopt end rnfcroe roaeonabls rulss end reffulatione govnrning 

## its adninintratlon and control,

. . . pruaarve, olaasify and,publish the ~mmtm~ript

### arohivsaand such other ;latters a8 it may desn 

### prop8r." ;Irtlals 5440 authorlzss the Ucmisalon Cosleet a State Librarian, whom dutlss are defined by ArtLots $Ul. Those 

### duties, aacordiJi&

to thestatut*,are 60be exesoined *under the direatlon ot said &l?adsaiOA1'~. &Iaddition to the entsxerebad d!tlss, he la rrqulrsd to parfom *mbh other dn.ties 45 add Commission trayaeoign hlmwr ;Seotlcxi 3 of this statute &mvldsfi inspart as follcwrst



### "3. EMshall 

### endeavortooolleat all msmscript 

### rsoords'ralati?lg to @hahistory

or. Textw. . . . Heshall 

### andsavor to COPpleta the tilea of the early Texas ,newi3- paperst~~h;~tsta Library; OaUSB 4nd-P

nt$+ the ourrent flies 0 not hss I&n ten 

## orthe leadl.7e. ztewegap%rsor the 

### Stateandthecurrent files of not lass than four lending nmapapem of other atetee, and of aa manycounty pepers, grofesslonal journals, denominational papers, e6riaultural. papas, 

### tradejcurrmle and other gubliaetlons of thle Stete a5 my seaa neoosoary to preaerva in the ::tattJ ~Llbrarp,on accurate record of t&a history ~ofTexas.** (Sphaais ouru). It is ths optnion of this EaFRrtnent that tha words %IUD~ to be bound” rneen“bind&q,* in the aonven

### tions1SsRno

, snd will not p3mit the eubot:tution or alorofltalng. Seation 3of Artlole 5Ul was enscted inHonorable Franois H. Iienshaw, Page 4

1909 (Aots 1909, p. 122, Ch. 70) and the words used muat.be given the meaning as then used an8 understood. bdi0r0rilmin~ ia a prooess of most reoent origin and obviously oould not have besn oontemplated by the Legislature at the time of enaotlng this seotion. Furthermore, the Commission, sin06 the time of enaotmsnt, has oonstrued this provision to ,meanbinding in book Sorm, and under the familiar rule of' law, long-oontinued contemporaneous and practioal lnterpretatlon of a statute by the offloers oharged with its adminletration will be given great weight in datsrminincJ the meaning of a statute. 2Horack's Sutherland Statutory Construotion 512, Sea, 5103.

This opinion is strengthsned by the faot that the Legielature has oonsidared legislation neoessary~to permit microfilming as a substitute for the maintananoa of the originals of oartaln reoords of the State HighwayDepartment. (Acts 3.945, p. 57, Ch.39)

For ths reasons stated, it is our opinion that ths Commission has ex&eded its rule-making power in direotine, the disoontinuanoa of "binding" of the nswspapers required by Article 5441 to be kept and bound. The rule-making power does not include the making of rules In direot contravention of a statute.

It is our further opinion thst neither your account entitled nBinding,,repairs, preparation for binding" nor the one entitled "Gathering hlstorioal data" oan be used ror any of the purposes Inquired about. Yours vsry' truly

Assiatent AL&films