In the late 1990’s, the New York State Library introduced the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, otherwise known as NOVEL. Any library with internet access in the State is able to link to NOVEL on the State Library website, allowing their card holders to access databases containing newspapers, professional journals, academic research, children’s magazines, and a plethora of other topics. This collection of databases, purchased and maintained by the New York State Library, gives participating libraries and their individual members access to hundreds of databases which would be prohibitively expensive for individual libraries to buy access to on their own. These databases represent the new age in academic research, as well as an important tool for citizens who might seek information on a specific topic.

Like so many things in New York, the libraries of the State are diverse, representing the geographic, economic and cultural differences that exist within the State. From the New York Public Library, world-renowned for the size and thoroughness of its collection, to the smallest library in rural upstate New York, these diverse organizations share a common goal: to provide maximum services and the most information possible to the population they serve. In many cases however, limited resources prevent individual libraries from expanding, or even maintaining, their collections. Through NOVEL, they can provide their users with access to a great deal of information through one source rather than multiple sources. NOVEL allows libraries to utilize their too scarce funding more flexibly and perhaps provide new services, rather than buying database access individually, or maintain multiple magazine and newspaper subscriptions to other services.

School libraries could possibly benefit the most from this program. Much attention is currently focused on the inequities in education funding. Too many students face huge disadvantages when applying for college admission and jobs because their school has failed to provide them with basic educational tools. That disadvantaged status does not end if these students reach college, as they now have no training to perform basic research because their schools did not provide them with the skills and equipment necessary to succeed at a college or university. By taking advantage of NOVEL, public and school libraries across the state can begin to remove these boundaries and provide users with access to information in a more equitable manner. For more information on NOVEL, or for information on how to get your local or school library involved in the program, please contact the NOVEL help desk at the New York State Library (1-877-277-0230), or log on to the Library website at www.nysl.nysed.gov.

Left to right: John Frederick (Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Steve Sanders); Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, Chair, Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology; and Assemblyman Michael Cusick observe students involved in a pilot program that provides all middle school students with lap top computers at the Michael J. Petrides Magnet School in Staten Island.

Assisting Localities with Library Construction
A new law enacted this year (Chapter 572/A.8364) will assist public libraries and public library districts by making state funds for library construction more accessible. Under prior law, libraries seeking a state grant for library construction out of the limited pool of $800,000 annually were required to complete the project for which the grant was awarded within one year. This act extends that timeframe, allowing libraries and library systems three years to complete their construction without endangering their state funding.

Creating New Library Districts
This year the Legislature authorized the establishment of three new library districts in the Village of Stewart Manor, Nassau County (Chapter 271/ A.887-A); the Town of Mamakating, Sullivan County (Chapter 392/ A.8139-A); and the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County (Chapter 226/ A.8567-A). With legislative authorization, these potential districts are now free to vote as communities to decide whether or not they want to establish library districts. If they choose to do so they then have the right to vote on their library budgets. This gives communities a means to place local dollars directly in their libraries and have a direct impact on the available services.

The 2003-04 budget fight saw public libraries faced with a tremendous threat to their ability to continue to provide services to the populations they serve. The governor’s budget proposed a $13.3 million dollar cut to library funding across the state. In addition, the governor proposed that the State Library as well as the State Museum, public broadcasting stations and the programs administered by those entities be removed from the jurisdiction of the State Education Department and transferred to a newly created entity know as the New York Institute for Cultural Education (NYICE). This proposed public corporation would have shifted control of the library and other cultural institutions away from the State Education Department, which provides the cultural institutions of the state with a global perspective and influence. The governor would appoint eight of the 15 members to the proposed board.

The public and legislative response to these proposals was a resounding no. Local advocates from across the State came to Albany to attend a rally on the steps of the Capitol protesting the proposed funding reduction. The Legislature’s budget rejected the proposal to move the administration of the State Library while restoring the $13.3 million in funding. Following the governor’s vetoes, the Legislature then reaffirmed its commitment to this important funding by voting to override the veto of the restored library funding. In the Assembly, this veto override received more votes to override than any other item in the budget.

Left to Right: Libraries Committee Chair Sandy Galef; Members of Assembly Michael Benjamin and Richard Gottfried; and Tom Alrutz, (Associate Director for Central Library Services, New York Public Library), on a tour of the New York Public Library.

In an effort to hear first hand what is going on in libraries around the state, each committee newsletter will include a column written by a guest affiliated with a different library. This column was submitted by Janet Steiner, Library Director, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca, New York.

You’ve all heard that old saying, “Easier said than done.” As a member of the Regents Commission on Library Services, now charged with carrying out one of my own recommendations, I can testify that establishing a public library district in my county is a lot easier said than done!

Chartered library service areas do not fit together neatly in New York State. We are a messy group of different types of public libraries with overlapping boundaries, and yet we have pockets of underserved (and untaxed) citizens.

In Tompkins County, we count one county library, one school district library and three association libraries. No existing public library district model fits Tompkins County. Our five libraries have met for almost two years and even though we are determined to meet the Regents policy recommendation of becoming a public library district, we are beginning to realize that a new model must be created. This new model must respect our autonomy and desire for independence—but must also recognize that we serve the same group of citizens who should only pay one tax for local library services.

Public Library Districts offer the hope of improved financial support for libraries because citizens vote directly on the library’s budget. In Tompkins County, where our local appropriations are not sufficient to meet the needs of our users, we are hopeful that legislators and library leaders will work with us in creating a new funding mechanism which will result in improved funding and achievement of Regents policy.