New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter D - Libraries › Part 90 - Public And Free Association Libraries › Section 90.3 - Approval of public library systems

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Definitions, for purposes of this
				  section:
(1) Public library system means a
				  library established by one or more counties, a group of libraries serving an
				  area including one or more counties in whole or in part, a library of a city
				  containing one or more counties, or a cooperative library system established
				  pursuant to the provisions of section 255  of the Education Law.
(2) Approved plan of service means a plan of
				  library service submitted by a public library system board of trustees in
				  accordance with section 272  of the Education Law that has been
				  approved by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this section. The
				  plan of service defines the mutual commitments, responsibilities and
				  obligations of the public library system and its members in meeting the service
				  needs of the area served and statewide library service goals.
(3) Direct access means the ability of an
				  individual, who resides within the boundaries of a public library system and
				  who has a valid borrower's card issued by the system or any member library in
				  the system, to borrow materials for home use directly from the premises of any
				  library that is a member of the public library system on the same basis as that
				  specified for cardholders in each individual library.
(4) Chartered service area means the
				  geographic area served by a library as stated in charter documents approved by
				  the Board of Regents and on file with the department. For purposes of this
				  section, the phrase "and its environs" or its equivalent as contained in any
				  charter document will not be recognized by the commissioner as a valid part of
				  the library's chartered service area. For purposes of this section, the
				  commissioner will not recognize areas served by the library under contract as a
				  valid part of a library's chartered service area.
(5) Resident borrower means an individual who
				  resides within the boundaries of the chartered service area of a public or
				  association or Indian library as defined in section 253  of the Education Law and who is a
				  library cardholder at that library.
(6) Nonresident borrower means an individual
				  who resides outside the boundaries of the chartered service area of a public or
				  association or Indian library as defined in section 253  of the Education Law and who is a
				  library cardholder at that library or at another member library of the public
				  library system or who is a system cardholder.
(7) Library resources means the print and
				  nonprint materials owned by the library and any other services provided by the
				  library to the resident borrowers of the library's chartered service
				  area.
(8) On-site use means the
				  ability of an individual to use library resources on the premises of a
				  library.
(9) Serious inequities and
				  hardships means those conditions which adversely affect resident borrowers of
				  member libraries. Such conditions are defined in accordance with the free
				  direct access provisions contained in each system's approved plan of service
				  and may include, but are not limited to, a definition of what constitutes
				  excessive borrowing of a library's resources by nonresident
				  borrowers.
(10) Unserved means
				  those individuals residing in geographic areas that are within the boundaries
				  of a public library system but outside the boundaries of a chartered service
				  area of a library which is a member of that system.
(11) Underserved means those individuals
				  residing in geographic areas that are within the chartered service area of a
				  member library and which the public library system has identified as having an
				  inadequate level of local income to support the delivery of acceptable library
				  services.