Pennsylvania Code › Title 22 - EDUCATION › Part IX - State Library and Advisory Council on Library Development › Subpart B - Advisory Council on Library Development › Chapter 141 - PLANS FOR THE USE OF STATE AID › CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL › Section 141.27 - Basic standards for branch libraries

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) A branch library is a unit with separate
					 quarters, a permanent basic collection of books, a permanent staff, and a
					 regular schedule administered from a central library unit.
(b) The central library unit of a local
					 library or library system is the principal resource library or administrative
					 center.
(c) For a plan to be
					 approved for the use of an equal distribution grant which is awarded to a local
					 library or a library system for a branch library the following requirements
					 shall be met:
(1) The local library or
					 library system shall qualify for basic aid as specified in section 303(1) of
					 The Library Code (24 P.S.
					 4303(1)).
(2) Service shall be provided as follows:
(i) The branch library shall be open for
					 service at least 20 hours per week during those hours which are best suited to
					 the needs of the residents of its service area.
(ii) Ready reference service shall be
					 available at all times the branch is open.
(iii) The staff of the branch library shall
					 be ready and willing to communicate with the headquarters library or district
					 library center, whichever is most appropriate, for reference assistance and
					 interlibrary loans.
(iv) The branch
					 shall have a telephone which is listed in the local directory.
(v) The branch shall have a sign which
					 clearly identifies it, from the outside, as a public
					 library.
(3) Library
					 materials shall be provided as follows:
(i)
					 The branch library shall maintain a collection of not less than 4,000 items on
					 its premises and shall annually offer a selection of not less than 6,000
					 different titles which are current and are demonstrably useful to the residents
					 of its service area. The items shall be organized by subject and recorded in a
					 manner which makes them easily accessible to the public.
(ii) The local library or the system shall
					 budget and expend annually for the purchase of library materials for each
					 qualifying branch library twice the amount of the equal distribution grant
					 allotment for that branch. For example, if the equal distribution grant is
					 $900, then the expenditure for library materials for the branch in the year of
					 the grant shall be not less than $1,800.
(iii) The collection shall be selected to
					 serve the informational, educational, and recreational needs of all residents
					 in its service area.
(iv) The
					 branch library shall have a collection of ready reference items of sufficient
					 scope to meet the needs of the residents of its service area.
(v) The branch library shall subscribe to and
					 make available for use at least 10 different periodicals which are indexed in
					 the
Readers Guide to Periodical Literature
or other recognized
					 periodical indices.
(4)
					 Personnel policies shall be as follows:
(i)
					 The branch library shall be in the charge of a person who has been trained to
					 recognize and provide for the informational, educational and recreational needs
					 of the residents of the library's service area. The training may be provided by
					 the administrator of the local library or library system of which the branch
					 library is a part or by the staff of the district library center.
(ii) The person in charge shall work on the
					 premises of the branch library not less than 20 hours weekly during hours when
					 the library is open for service to the public.