NY Educ L § 140 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 1 - General Provisions Article 3 - Education Department Part 1 - General Provisions 140 - Historical Documentary Heritage Grants and Aid.

§ 140. Historical documentary heritage grants and aid. 1. Short title. This  section  shall  be  known  and  may  be  cited  as  the  "New York documentary heritage act".   2. Definitions. As used in this section,  the  following  terms  shall mean:   a.  "Historical records". Records that contain significant information that is  of  enduring  value  and  are  therefore  worthy  of  long-term retention  and  systematic  management.  Historical  records may include diaries,  journals,  ledgers,  minutes,  reports,   photographs,   maps, drawings,  blueprints,  agreements,  memoranda,  deeds,  case files, and other material. They may take any of several physical forms:  parchment, paper, microfilm, cassette tape, film, videotape, computer tapes, discs, and other "machine readable" formats.   b.  "Historical records program". Any deliberate, organized program to collect,  hold,  care  for,  and  make  available  historical   records, including    identifying,   appraising,   arranging,   describing,   and referencing them and using them in  exhibitions  and  other  public  and educational programs.   c.  "Institutions  eligible  for  historical  records program grants". Chartered or  incorporated  nonprofit  archives,  libraries,  historical societies and museums and other nonprofit institutions in New York state which operate historical records programs and which meet standards to be established by the commissioner pursuant to regulations adopted for such purposes. Institutions operated by state or federal government agencies, and  local  government  archives  shall  not  be eligible for historical records  project  grants,  except  that  an  institution  of  the  state university  of New York or the city university of New York may apply for historical records project grants with  regard  to  records  other  than internal records generated by the institution after July first, nineteen hundred  forty-eight if it is a component of the state university of New York or after July first, nineteen  hundred  seventy-nine  if  it  is  a component  of  the  city  university of New York or after the subsequent date on which the institution became a component of such university.   d. "Historical records program project". A project to carry out one or more of the activities described in subdivision three of this section.   e. "Cooperative project". A collaborative effort undertaken by two  or more  historical records programs, to meet shared needs or to accomplish a common purpose, or a project  undertaken  by  a  service  provider  to address the historical records needs of more than one historical records program.   f. "Regional advisory and assistance agency". A reference and research library  resources system, or an alternate public or nonprofit agency or organization willing to provide historical records  program  development advice and assistance services covering a reference and research library resources system region which is acceptable to the commissioner.   g.  "Historical  records  program  development advice and assistance". Advice and assistance on the development and strengthening of historical records programs, promotion of  cooperation,  coordinated  documentation planning,  training  in historical records management techniques, advice and assistance in reporting of information concerning historical records to statewide and national data bases where appropriate, and  initiatives to  increase  public  awareness  of  the  values  and uses of historical records.   h. "Service provider". A nonprofit professional or other  association, local  government,  college or university, historical service agency, or other  nonprofit  institution  or  system  which  provides  services  to historical records programs.    i.  "Cost  sharing".  Local  funds,  local in-kind services, and other funds and support from other than state sources.   j.  "Program  year".  The  annual  period from July first through June thirtieth.   3. Scope of activities to be supported. The commissioner is authorized to provide grants and advice to  institutions  eligible  for  historical records  programs and cooperative projects, and aid to regional advisory and  assistance  agencies,  the  central  administration  of  the  state university  of  New  York  and  the  central  administration of the city university of New York. Grants shall be used to support the  development and  administration  of  historical  records  programs;  the  surveying, appraisal,   identification,   collection,   duplication,   arrangement, description,  and  making  available  of  historical records; public and educational programming relating  to  historical  records;  projects  to improve archival techniques; and projects to promote the research use of historical  records.  Aid  to  regional advisory and assistance agencies shall be used to  promote  and  assist  the  development  of  historical records  programs.  Aid  to  the  central  administrations  of the state university of New York and the city university of New York shall be used to develop guidelines,  policies  and  procedures,  training,  technical assistance,  materials,  oversight,  retention and disposition schedules for university records, and to promote, guide and direct  the  component institutions  of  such  universities  in  the  sound  administration  of archival records.   4. Distribution of funds. a.  Historical  documentary  heritage  funds shall  be  distributed as follows: (1) Grants. (i) individual historical records program projects shall be  eligible  for  at  least  thirty-five percent of the amount available;  (ii)  cooperative  projects shall be eligible for up to twenty percent of the amount available.  (2) Aid. (i)  regional  advisory  and  assistance  agencies  shall  be eligible for forty percent of the amount available;  (ii)  the  central  administration of the state university of New York shall be eligible for two and  one-half  percent  of  the  total  amount available;  (iii)  the  central  administration of the city university of New York shall be eligible for two and  one-half  percent  of  the  total  amount available.   b.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  subparagraphs one and two of paragraph a of this subdivision, the commissioner, taking  into  account the  recommendations  of  the New York state historical records advisory board, may distribute funds designated for one purpose  to  address  the needs of another purpose, provided that the commissioner determines that the  significance of the contributions to be realized from the proposals in one category outweighs the significance of the  contributions  to  be realized from the proposals in another category.   5.  Cost-sharing.  The  commissioner  shall  determine  the  amount of cost-sharing  required  from  historical  records  programs,   including cooperative programs. For individual historical records program projects involving  arrangement, description, and other work relating directly to the administration of historical records held by a program,  the  amount of such cost-sharing shall be at least fifty percent.   6. Applications for historical records program projects. a. Filing. By dates  determined by the commissioner each year, an eligible institution may file an application, in a form prescribed by the commissioner, for a grant to support the approved costs of  a  proposed  historical  records project.    b.  Content.  Such  application shall include, but need not be limited to:  (1)  a  statement  describing  the  applicant's  need  for the funding requested;  (2) collection statements and policies  used  by  the  institution  to guide its acquisition efforts;  (3)  a  summary  description of the records included in the historical records program of the institution;  (4) the status of finding aids and published guides for the historical records held by the institution;  (5) the current and/or anticipated level of use and audience  for  the historical records;  (6)  the  importance of the historical records for documenting life in New York;  (7) the expected impact of  the  grant  upon  the  historical  records program;  (8)  the  plan  of  work  for  the activities for which the funding is sought;  (9) the proposed project budget, including cost-sharing which would be committed to the project; and  (10) the staff  and  other  resources  devoted  to  the  institution's historical records program on an ongoing basis.   c.   Approval.   In   approving   any  application  pursuant  to  this subdivision, the commissioner shall consider:  (1) information in the proposal as set forth in paragraph  b  of  this subdivision;  (2)  the  capacity  of  the institution to make the historical records known and accessible for research, education, public programs,  improved policy making and other public benefits;  (3)  the  potential for improving the documentation of the heritage of any racial and ethnic group; and  (4) the potential for improving the documentation of under  documented subjects, institutions, or activities.   7.  Application  for  cooperative  projects. a. Filing. By dates to be established by the commissioner each year,  a  service  provider  or  an eligible  institution  acting  as  fiscal  agent on behalf of a group of eligible institutions, may file an application, in a form prescribed  by the  commissioner.  A  group  of  cooperating institutions may be formed because of  a  common  purpose,  rather  than  because  of  geographical proximity.   b.  Content.  Such  application shall include, but need not be limited to:  (1) a statement  describing  the  applicant's  need  for  the  funding requested;  (2) a description of the issue, problem, or need that the project will address;  (3)  a description of the historical records programs to be served and how the effort to be undertaken in a cooperative project relates to  and will strengthen these programs;  (4) description of the plan of work for the project;  (5)  outcome  or  product  of  the project and how it will improve the identification and administration of historical records or contribute to the strengthening of historical records programs; and  (6)  the  proposed  budget,  including  cost-sharing  that  would   be contributed to the project.   c.   Approval.   In   approving   any  application  pursuant  to  this subdivision, the commissioner shall consider:  (1) information in the proposal as set forth in paragraph  b  of  this subdivision;  (2)  the  importance  of the records involved for the documentation of life in New York state;  (3) the importance of the project and the intended outcome or  product in  terms  of strengthening the programs of the cooperating institutions and promoting improved historical records management;  (4)  the  capacities  of  the  cooperating  institutions  or   service providers  for carrying out the project, including prior experience with cooperative or service projects; and  (5) the potential for cooperating institutions to sustain  an  ongoing productive cooperative relationship as a result of the project.   8. Aid for regional advisory and assistance agencies. a. Coordination. The  commissioner  shall  establish  statewide  priorities  for regional advisory and assistance agencies and shall assist and  coordinate  their efforts.   b.  Historical  records  program  advice  and  assistance plans. To be eligible to receive aid annually, each participating  regional  advisory and  assistance agency shall submit an annual workplan acceptable to the commissioner, and, after the first year of receiving aid,  a  report  on activities  of  the prior year and a five-year plan, by dates designated by  the  commissioner.  The  five-year  plan  shall  outline  goals  and objectives to be accomplished in the region during the five-year period. The  annual  workplan  shall  describe  the activities to be carried out during the year and the program advice and assistance  to  be  provided. The  five-year  plans  and  the  annual workplans shall reflect regional priorities and shall be consistent with statewide priorities established by the commissioner.   c. Aid. The commissioner shall each year determine the distribution of aid among eligible regional advisory and assistance agencies.  In  doing so,  he shall take into account the level of resources needed to provide the services described in paragraphs f and g of subdivision two of  this section  in  a  satisfactory manner, the extent of the geographical area served by each agency, and the size of the  population  served  by  each agency,  and  shall  distribute  the available funds in such a manner as will best give effect to this section.   9. Aid for state university of New York and  city  university  of  New York.      To   be   eligible  to  receive  aid  annually,  the  central administration of the state university  of  New  York  and  the  central administration  of  the city university of New York shall each submit an annual workplan acceptable to the commissioner,  and,  after  the  first year  of  receiving  aid, a report on activities of the prior year and a five-year plan.   11. Regulations. The commissioner shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section.