Enacts the academic research information access act; appropriation

§ 2- Legislative findings. This bill creates an appropriation to allow public and private academic research libraries to make their collections accessible to the entrepreneurial community. Currently access is limited because of the high cost of licensing agreements and restrictive contracts that inhibit collaboration.

§ 3- Amends section 100 of the Economic Development Law which sets out the general powers of the Department to include promoting the broad availability of information resources.

§ 4- Adds a new article 17 to the Economic Development Law entitled Academic Research Information Access.

§350 - General. Establishes the academic research information access (ARIA) program in the Department of Economic Development.

§351 - Information Resources. Requires the Department in conjunction with SUNY and the NYS Board of Regents to establish contracts and licenses for the provision of electronic resources (including academic, professional and industry journals, reference handbooks and manuals, research tracking tools, indexes and abstracts). The users of these resources shall be: individuals operating primarily in the fields of science, technology and medical research and development, including researchers, scholars, faculty and students and member and associate institutions of the New York State Higher Education Initiative (NYSHEI); researchers; entrepreneurs; innovators existing in business incubators aligned with a NYSHEI member; recipients of grants from NYSTAR or Empire State Development; and small businesses in approved empire zones.

§ 352 - Resource selection. Resources made available through this program will be selected from recommendations made by an advisory board of public and private library representatives.

§ 353 - Contractual Negotiations. Agreements funded by ARIA shall be negotiated in compliance with state procurement contracting procedures.

§ 354 - Administration - Gives the Department the Authority to promulgate rules and regulations to implement this program.

§ 5- $15 million dollar appropriation to implement this program.

§ 6- Effective date.

Justification

To foster a knowledge-based, or innovation, economy in New York it is essential to create an information infrastructure to support academic, business and entrepreneurial research, discovery and growth.

The early twenty-first century has rightly been termed the "information age." Scholarly information driven by new research is generated at the fastest pace in history; and it has become a major, if not the principal component of a knowledge-based economy. A 1993 U.S. Commerce Department report notes that two-thirds of American workers are in information related jobs, and the rest are in industries that are reliant on information. The report states plainly that information fuels economic growth and creates jobs.

In an information infrastructure, access to academic research and development information resources is critical. Researchers confirm that access to high-end information resources leads to 87 percent more success in research activities. This leads to more patents, more licenses, and thus more jobs and economic strength.

In recent years, New York has made considerable investments in promoting research and innovation as a stimulus to the economy. Missing from past efforts has been broad statewide access to electronic resources essential to research and economic development. It is noteworthy that the most substantive progress in establishing information infrastructure to support teaching, learning, research and innovation occurs in places other than New York. Nearly half of all other states have created some variety of a library-driven information infrastructure.

Academic libraries in other states have been successful in obtaining state government support of high-end research databases in scientific, technical engineering, medical and financial fields of endeavor. Through State contracts, individual academic libraries have benefited from deep savings in the costs of these databases, enabling them to invest those savings to extend their local database offerings to the growing and emerging fields of study so important to their regional economies. Additionally, only through state contracts can these information resources by shared with small business interests, such as those being cultivated in Empire Zones or various incubators.

Through a state supported program for research and development information resources, college and university faculty are able to contribute advanced research to industry and government. This widespread access will fuel workforce development, economic expansion, new enterprises, new inventions, new industries and new jobs.

Existing law

None.

Prior legislative history

2007-2008: A.9672/S.6741.

Fiscal implications

This bill contains an annual state appropriation of$15 million to leverage over $60 million of information resources, according to conservative estimates.

Effective date

Immediately.