Enacts the academic research information access act

Summary of provisions

§ 1- Legislative findings. The New York state Commission on Higher Education concluded in their June 2008 Final Report of Findings and Recommendations that New York state is rapidly losing ground in the global competition for preeminence in the knowledge-based economy of the twenty-first century. Among its recommendations, the Commission argued that two "infrastructure investments are particularly critical to participation in the knowledge economy: technology and academic libraries."

To create the needed infrastructure the Commission sought the "academic library pooling of electronic information." The report said, "not only are scientific discoveries shared through electronic journals, but faculty and students in both the sciences and humanities increasingly rely on electronic resources such as collections of primary literary texts and historical archives. Academic libraries are now contending with rapidly expanding information sources, and facing increasing costs for licensing fees. This program would develop the information infrastructure necessary to allow New York's higher education community to build on and extend the vast information resources of academic libraries while broadening access and lowering costs.

§ 2- Sets out the short title.

§ 3- Amends section 3152 of the Public Authorities Law which sets out the general powers of the Foundation to include promoting the broad availability of information resources.

§ 4- Amends the Public Authority Law by adding new section 3158-a establishing in statute the framework for the Academic Research Information Access (ARIA) act. Doing so, this section defines the participating entities and beneficiaries, provides for a representative advisory board to oversee procurement of information resources, and establishes guidelines for the procedures of ARIA.

§ 5- Effective date.

Justification

This legislation establishes a statewide information infrastructure by leveraging the considerable investments of New York's public and private academic and research libraries.

Establishment of the information infrastructure answers a challenge set in the A.T. Kearney report commissioned by Empire State Development. That report insisted on the need for a "unified statewide economic growth engine fueled by the development of a high technology infrastructure. Such an infrastructure can be created through the combined efforts of the state, ESD, businesses, investors and the academic and research communities."

ARIA follows a model established by other states. By centralizing the purchase of expensive electronic information resources ARIA secures enormous economies of scale. The result is savings for institutions of higher education and expanded access to critical resources for those innovators for whom the resource pricing is prohibitive, such as small businesses.

New York is home to the largest public state and urban higher education systems, as well as the largest ensemble of private colleges and universities. ARIA offers an opportunity to take advantage of this unequaled advantage. Through ARIA, all not-for-profit institutions of higher education will have the ability to access electronic data sources in support of science, technology, engineering and medicine. Also gaining the ability to access these resources would be all university affiliated incubators, designated research libraries and qualified emerging technology businesses with fifty or fewer employees which receive state assistance through NYSTAR, the Urban Development Corporation d/b/a ESDC, or the Department of Economic Development.

Modeled closely on the New Jersey Knowledge Initiative, ARIA anticipates a return on investment greater than ten dollars for everyone dollar invested. While the ARIA program would be administered by NYSTAR, procurement decisions would be guided by an advisory committee of academic library professionals, proportionately elected by peers to ensure the needs of all colleges and universities are represented.

This legislation establishes the framework for ARIA, without mandating an appropriation. Enactment of the legislation will allow NYSTAR and the ARIA advisory committee to establish processes, including procurement procedures, as well as undertake requisite surveys to assess specific need, and open negotiations with vendors for desired products.

Legislative history

2009 - A.7229/S.5419, Passed Assembly 145-0, Passed Senate 60-0, Veto Message number 80 of 2009.

2008 - A.9672/S.6741

Fiscal implications

No immediate costs.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall have become a law.