Relates to state aid to libraries and library systems

Summary of provisions

The bill would amend two sections of the Education Law that are related to State Aid for Libraries and Library Systems:

Education Law 272 - Conditions Under Which Library Systems are entitled to State Aid

Education Law 273 - Apportionment of State Aid to Libraries and Systems Section 1 of this bill will:

o Create a new subparagraph 1 under Education Law 272(1)(j) that would trigger an automatic waiver from the local maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements in Education Law 272(1)(j) in the event the state budget appropriations for public library systems have been reduced by more than twenty percent below the statutory formula amounts.

o Permanently eliminate the current local maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements for designated central libraries or co-central libraries of public library systems In Education Law 272(1(j)(2). This change is needed in order to implement the changes made to Education Law 273(1)(b) proposed in Section 2 of this bill.

Section 2 of this bill will:

o Create a new paragraph (m) under Education Law 272(1) that would provide the Commissioner of Education with the authority to waive statutory program requirements of certain library system aid programs in the event that the state budget appropriations for library systems have been reduced by more than twenty percent below the statutory formula amounts. Programs that would be included under this provision include:

o Education Law 273 (1)(b) - public library systems - Cooperative resource and collection development aid (formerly known as central library aid).

o Education Law 273(1)(h) - public library systems - Coordinated outreach and youth services aid. o Education Law 273 (4)(b)- reference and research library resources systems Medical Information Services Program Aid. o Education Law 273(4)(c)- reference and research library resources systems Hospital Library Services Aid. o Education Law 273 (6)- reference and research library resources systems Regional Bibliographic Data bases and Interlibrary Resources Sharing Aid. o Education Law 284(1)(g) - school library systems - Automation Aid

Section 3 of this bill will:

o Amend Education Law 273(1)(b) to transform the public library system central library aid program, providing a broader, more flexible "cooperative resources and collection development aid" program. Systems will no longer be required to have an officially designated and State-approved central library. Systems will have multiple options for using these State funds, including using the State funds to contract with one or more member libraries that provide centralized collections and resources for use by all system residents. Systems may also use these State funds to offer a broad range of electronic resources for use by all residents of the system service area or other cooperative initiatives that will be identified in collaboration with member libraries.

o Amend Education Law 273(1)(c) and (d) to modernize and simplify three of the operating aid formulas for public library systems, reducing the number of formulas from three to two without reducing the overall statutory funding levels. The formula in paragraph c will be amended to increase the amount of per capita State Aid from ninety four cents to $1.62 per capita. This increase is budget neutral because of the corresponding elimination of the outdated and unnecessarily complex "book reimbursal" program formula in Education Law 273(1)(d)(1) of sixty-eight cents per capita. The automation program aid formula in paragraph d (2) will be adjusted to ensure that the overall funding amount for the system's automation program aid remains the same.

o Amend Education Law 273(1)(f)(1), regarding Local Library Services Aid, to ensure that no library receives less in Local Library Services Aid than the library received in 2011, thus providing a hold harmless so that the changes in the 2010 census do not result in any library receiving a reduction in this State funding in statute. Other amendments to subparagraph f will remove the provision that the Commissioner may only grant waivers or variances from minimum standards if library aid is not at the statutory level. Based on past experience, there are sometimes special circumstances under which such a waiver or variance is legitimately needed by a library.

o Amend Education Law 273(1)(h), regarding Coordinated outreach services, to add the authority for public library systems to use this formula funding for coordinated outreach and youth services for the identified target groups. Amendments will also eliminate the provisions of Education Law 273(1)(h)(2) which authorize a $200,000 competitive adult literacy grant program and Education Law

273(1)(h)(3) which authorize a $300,000 competitive family literacy grant programs for public libraries and public library systems. Instead, these State funds ($500,000) would be used to increase the base grant for each public library system for coordinated outreach and youth services program from $43,000 to $65,000. · Amend Education Law Section 273(1) to add a new subparagraph (0). This new subparagraph would provide that any new public library system established through merger on or after April 1, 2012 would continue to receive at least the same level of funding annually as the component public library systems would have received individually, removing the current financial disincentives for voluntary library system mergers.

Section 4 of this bill will:

o Amend Education Law Section 273(4) to add a new subparagraph (d). This new subparagraph (d) would provide that any new reference and research library resources system established through merger on or after April 1, 2012 would continue to receive at least the same level of funding annually as the component reference and research library resources systems would have received individually, removing the current financial disincentives for voluntary library system mergers.

Section 5 of this bill will:

o Amend Education Law Section 273(7), regarding the Conservation and preservation of library research materials, to streamline the conservation and preservation of library research materials program. These amendments will permanently eliminate the provisions of subparagraph (c) which authorize the complex and competitive $350,000 coordinated conservation/preservation grant program for the Big Eleven Research Libraries. It would also amend subparagraph (a) to move the funds from (c) to (a), thereby increasing the statutory amount available to each of the eligible Big Eleven research libraries from $126,000 to $158,000. Other changes to subparagraph (b) will require that the New York State Research Library's statutory formula conservation/preservation program is funded at the same level in the state operations budget as are the programs of the ten other Big Eleven Research libraries in the local assistance budget.

o Amend Education Law Section 273(8) to require that in the event that the statutory formula funds for the New York State Library's Talking Book and Braille Library are subject to a reduction adjustment, such adjustment shall not exceed any reduction adjustment applied to other statutory Library Aid programs in the local assistance budget.

o Amend Education Law Section 273 (11) to provide a hold-harmless so that no library or system will receive less funding than the library or library system received under statute in 2011 as a result of the use of the 2010 census.

Justification

The proposed amendments to Section 272 and 273 of the Education Law will enable New York State's network of state-supported library systems and libraries, including the New York State Library, to better meet the needs of New Yorkers for library services in 2012 and

beyond. The proposed amendments will streamline and modernize a number of existing library aid provisions in statute so that library systems and libraries can continue to enhance collaboration, expand cooperation and increase shared services that benefit all New Yorkers. The changes will also provide library systems with more flexibility, so they can work in partnership with each other, with local libraries and with the State Library to adapt existing programs and services to meet the changing needs of library customers and achieve greater economies of scale. Amendments will also remove current financial disincentives for like-type library system mergers among public library systems and reference and research library resources systems.

The changes accomplished by this proposed legislation will enable library systems and libraries to more quickly institute new programs and services that take full advantage of new technologies and digital content, in cost efficient and operationally effective manners. The proposed amendments will provide increased flexibility for library systems in meeting the priority needs of their member libraries and their communities during times of reduced state appropriations for statutory library programs.

The proposed amendments to Education Law 273 will also streamline and update several outdated aid formulas. The proposed legislation will eliminate three different statewide competitive grant programs and shift the State funds to formula aid programs with similar purposes. Each of these three competitive grant programs are underfunded compared to the need, and annually benefit only relatively small numbers of libraries. In addition, the State . requirements for competitive grant programs have become increasingly stringent, with multiple and costly layers of administrative review and approvals. These costly multiple layers of review drain limited staffing resources and result in long delays in grant approvals by control agencies. As a result, local libraries may have only a two or three month window to complete what was intended by statute to be a twelve month grant project. The administrative burden consequently outweighs the benefits of these relatively small, targeted competitive grant programs.

Going forward, the State funds will be shifted to similar statutory formula programs in order to continue to address what are still areas of critical need in New York State. Programs for New Yorkers needing adult literacy library services and family literacy library services will be provided through the expanded public library systems' coordinated outreach library services and youth services program. The conservation and preservation of unique and fragile library research materials will be enhanced by the addition of the $350,000 from the coordinated conservation/preservation competitive grant program to the annual statutory funding for the Big Eleven research libraries. As a result of these changes, these limited State funds will benefit larger numbers of libraries and library users in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. The elimination of the three under-funded and labor intensive competitive grant programs will also result in operational efficiencies for the State Library, the State Education Department, control agencies, and local libraries. Amendments will clarify in law that statutory funding for the New York

State Library for conservation/preservation and for the Talking Book and Braille Library in the State Operations Budget should be subject to the same reduction adjustments that apply to the other statutory aid programs for libraries in the Local Assistance Budget. Currently, that is not the case and these important programs have suffered disproportionately from reductions beginning in 2008-2009 and continuing through 2011-2012. The 2012-2013 Executive Proposal recommends additional reductions for 2012-2013, resulting in an overall 40 percent reduction from statutory levels. Library Aid local assistance programs have been reduced by 23 percent.

The hold harmless provisions currently in law will be updated to provide that no library or system would receive less in statutory formula aid as a result of the use of the 2010 Census than they had received in 2011.

Legislative history

This is a new legislative proposal.

Fiscal implications

Budgetary implications of this legislation would be minimal.

The proposed amendments included in this bill are fiscally neutral in terms of the funds generated by the statutory formulas. The existing statute, using the 2010 census with a hold harmless to 2011 would drive an estimated $103.5 million in state aid to libraries and library systems. However, the proposed appropriation for libraries and library systems in the 2012-2013 Executive Budget is $79 million, approximately twenty-three percent less than the amounts generated by the formulas in statute.

The State Library will realize an immediate savings of more than $50,000 annually in administrative costs as a result of the elimination of the three competitive grant programs. This amount does not include additional savings that will be realized by control agencies and local libraries.

Effective date

Section 6 of this bill specifies the effective dates for the provisions in this bill. All provisions will take effect immediately and be deemed to have been in full force and effect as of April 1, 2012 with the exception that the changes to adult and family literacy grant programs do not take place until April 1, 2013 (since the second year of the current grant cycle runs through June 30, 2013, using funds appropriated in the FY 2012-2013 Budget). Also, the changes to the competitive Coordinated Conservation/Preservation Grant Program do not take place until April 1, 2014. (since the third and final year of the current grant cycle runs through June 30, 2014, using funds appropriated in the FY 2013-2014 Budget).