I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 13
To reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2003
Mr. HOEKSTRA (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. GREENWOOD, 
Mr. SOUDER, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. OSBORNE, 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, and Mr. ENGLISH) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act, and 
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Museum and Library 
Services Act of 2003’’. 
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 101. GENERAL DEFINITIONS. 
Section 202 of the Museum and Library Services Act 
(20 U.S.C. 9101) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) DETERMINED TO BE OBSCENE.—The term 
‘determined to be obscene’ means determined, in a 
final judgment of a court of record and of competent 
jurisdiction in the United States, to be obscene.’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (4); 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (5); 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) FINAL JUDGMENT.—The term ‘final judg-
ment’ means a judgment that is—
‘‘(A) not reviewed by any other court that 
has authority to review such judgment; or 
‘‘(B) is not reviewable by any other court. 
‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 
means any tribe, band, nation, or other organized 
group or community, including any Alaska native 
village, regional corporation, or village corporation 
(as defined in, or established pursuant to, the Alas-
ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.)), which is recognized by the Secretary of the 
Interior as eligible for the special programs and
services provided by the United States to Indians be-
cause of their status as Indians.’’; and 
(5) by adding after paragraph (5) (as so redes-
ignated) the following: 
‘‘(6) 
MUSEUM
AND
LIBRARY
SERVICES 
BOARD.—The term ‘Museum and Library Services 
Board’ means the National Museum and Library 
Services Board established under section 207. 
‘‘(7) OBSCENE.—The term ‘obscene’ means, 
with respect to a project, that—
‘‘(A) the average person, applying contem-
porary community standards, would find that 
such project, when taken as a whole, appeals to 
the prurient interest; 
‘‘(B) such project depicts or describes sex-
ual conduct in a patently offensive way; and 
‘‘(C) such project, when taken as a whole, 
lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or sci-
entific value.’’. 
SEC. 102. INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES. 
Section 203 of the Museum and Library Services Act 
(20 U.S.C. 9102) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking the last sen-
tence; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES BOARD.—
There shall be a National Museum and Library Services 
Board within the Institute, as provided under section 
207.’’. 
SEC. 103. DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE. 
(a) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—Section 204(e) 
of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 
9103(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Where appropriate, the Director shall ensure that activi-
ties under subtitle B are coordinated with activities under 
section 1251 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6383).’’. 
(b) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Section 204 of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 9103) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Director may 
promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary 
and appropriate to implement the provisions of this title. 
‘‘(g) APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to 
receive financial assistance under this title, a person 
or agency shall submit an application in accordance 
with procedures established by the Director by regu-
lation.
‘‘(2) REVIEW AND EVALUATION.—The Director 
shall establish procedures for reviewing and evalu-
ating such applications. Such procedures shall not be 
subject to any review outside of the Institute. In es-
tablishing such procedures, the Director shall ensure 
that the criteria by which applications are evaluated 
are consistent with the purposes of this title, taking 
into consideration general standards of decency and 
respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the 
American public. 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF PROJECTS DETERMINED 
TO BE OBSCENE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The procedures de-
scribed in paragraph (2) shall include provisions 
that clearly specify that obscenity is without lit-
erary, artistic, political, or scientific merit, and 
is not protected speech. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—No financial assist-
ance may be provided under this title with re-
spect to any project that is determined to be 
obscene. 
‘‘(C) TREATMENT
OF
APPLICATION
DIS-
APPROVAL.—The disapproval of an application
by the Director shall not be construed to mean, 
and shall not be considered as evidence that,
the project for which the applicant requested fi-
nancial assistance is or is not obscene.’’. 
SEC. 104. NATIONAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES 
BOARD. 
The Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 
9101 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 207 as section 208; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 206 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 207. NATIONAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES 
BOARD. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Institute a board to be known as the ‘National Museum 
and Library Services Board’. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
‘‘(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Mu-
seum and Library Services Board shall be composed 
of the following: 
‘‘(A) The Director. 
‘‘(B) The Deputy Director for the Office of 
Library Services. 
‘‘(C) The Deputy Director for the Office of 
Museum Services. 
‘‘(D) 10 members appointed by the Presi-
dent, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, from among individuals who are citi-
zens of the United States and who are specially 
qualified in the area of library services by virtue 
of their education, training, or experience. 
‘‘(E) 10 members appointed by the Presi-
dent, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, from among individuals who are citi-
zens of the United States and who are specially 
qualified in the area of museum services by vir-
tue of their education, training, or experience. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS.—
‘‘(A) LIBRARY
MEMBERS.—Of the mem-
bers of the Museum and Library Services 
Board appointed under paragraph (1)(D)—
‘‘(i) 5 shall be professional librarians 
or information specialists, of whom—
‘‘(I) at least 1 shall be knowl-
edgeable about electronic information 
and technical aspects of library and 
information services and sciences; and 
‘‘(II) and at least 1 other shall be 
knowledgeable about the library and 
information service needs of under-
served communities; and
‘‘(ii) the remainder shall have special 
competence in, or knowledge of, the needs 
for library and information services in the 
United States. 
‘‘(B) MUSEUM
MEMBERS.—Of the mem-
bers of the Museum and Library Services 
Board appointed under paragraph (1)(E)—
‘‘(i) 5 shall be museum professionals 
who are or have been affiliated with—
‘‘(I) resources that, collectively, 
are broadly representative of the cura-
torial, conservation, educational, and 
cultural resources of the United 
States; or 
‘‘(II) museums that, collectively, 
are broadly representative of various 
types of museums, including museums 
relating to science, history, tech-
nology, art, zoos, botanical gardens, 
and museums designed for children; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the remainder shall be individ-
uals recognized for their broad knowledge, 
expertise, or experience in museums or 
commitment to museums.