| Chapter 168 |
| 2024 -- H 7475 Enacted 06/17/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO LIBRARIES -- STATE LIBRARY |
Introduced By: Representative Lauren H. Carson |
| Date Introduced: February 02, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 29-1-1, 29-1-2, 29-1-3, 29-1-10 and 29-1-11 of the General Laws in |
| Chapter 29-1 entitled "State Library" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 29-1-1. Library established -- State librarian. |
| Within the department of state there shall be a state library and, for the supervision of the |
| state library, the secretary of state shall appoint a state librarian qualified by training and experience |
| who has a master’s degree from an American Library Association-accredited program who shall |
| serve at the pleasure of the secretary of state. The state librarian shall carry out the duties required |
| by chapters 1 — 3 of this title. The state librarian shall continue to maintain and supervise the |
| legislative reference bureau state library. |
| 29-1-2. Care of library — Preservation of books and documents Care of library -- |
| Preservation of materials. |
| The secretary of state shall have the care and custody of the state library, except the law |
| library, and shall receive and preserve all books materials and documents that may be sent to, or |
| purchased for, the library. |
| 29-1-3. Clerical assistance Reference assistance. |
| The general assembly shall annually appropriate such sums as it may deem necessary for |
| clerical service reference librarians in the state library, and the state librarian is hereby authorized |
| and empowered to employ additional clerical assistance reference librarians. Reference librarians |
| shall have a master’s degree from an American Library Association-accredited program. The state |
| controller shall draw orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of all sums appropriated |
| under the authority of this section, or so much thereof as may be from time to time required, upon |
| his or her their receipt of proper vouchers approved by the state librarian and the secretary of state. |
| 29-1-10. Legislative reference bureau — Functions State library -- Functions. |
| There shall be in the state library, under the direction of the state librarian, a legislative |
| reference bureau that shall collect, arrange, and place on file books, pamphlets, and other material |
| relating to legislation, and subscribe to databases relating to legislation; that shall prepare abstracts |
| of laws in other states; and that shall present such other information as may be useful and necessary |
| to the general assembly in the performance of its legislative duties. |
| 29-1-11. Expense of legislative reference bureau Expense of the state library. |
| (a) The state librarian shall, with the approval of the secretary of state, employ such |
| assistance and incur such expenses as may be necessary in the proper administration of the |
| legislative reference bureau state library, and the general assembly shall annually appropriate such |
| sum as it may deem necessary for this purpose. |
| (b) The state controller is hereby authorized and directed to draw his or her their orders |
| upon the general treasurer for the payment of the amount appropriated, or so much thereof as may |
| be from time to time required, upon his or her their receipt of proper vouchers approved by the |
| state librarian and the secretary of state. |
| SECTION 2. Sections 29-1-5 and 29-1-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 29-1 entitled |
| "State Library" are hereby repealed. |
| 29-1-5. Exchange of publications with agencies outside state. |
| It shall be the duty of the state librarian to exchange with such nations, states, |
| municipalities, institutions, and persons outside the state as may confer a corresponding benefit, |
| copies of the laws, law reports, reports of departments and institutions, and all other books and |
| pamphlets published by the state, and to distribute these publications to such other nations, states, |
| municipalities, institutions, and persons outside the state as may, by law, be entitled to receive |
| them. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any department from distributing its |
| own publications. Distributions to, or exchanges with, states shall be with the state libraries or the |
| authorized exchange agencies of the states. |
| 29-1-15. Cooperation with federal officials. |
| The secretary of state is hereby empowered to cooperate with the Secretary of Education |
| of the United States of America or any United States officer in carrying out the purposes of any |
| and all acts of Congress for the benefit of those library services, including archives and records that |
| are under his or her jurisdiction. |
| SECTION 3. Sections 29-7-2, 29-7-3, 29-7-4, 29-7-5 and 29-7-6 of the General Laws in |
| Chapter 29-7 entitled "State Publications Clearinghouse" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 29-7-2. Definitions. |
| As used in this chapter: |
| (1) “Depository library” means a library designated to collect, maintain, and make |
| available state publications to the general public. The clearinghouse director shall consider the |
| geography of the state when designating depository libraries;. |
| (2) “Printed” means any form of printing and duplicating, regardless of format, with the |
| exception of correspondence, and interoffice and intraoffice memoranda;. |
| (3) “State agency” means any state office, whether legislative, executive, or judicial, |
| regulatory, an administrative body of the state, or any political subdivision thereof; including, but |
| not limited to, any constitutional officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, office, |
| authority, any school, fire, or water district, and/or any other agency or quasi-public agency of |
| Rhode Island state or local government which exercises governmental function and/or that expends |
| state appropriated funds or any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or |
| business entity acting on behalf of any public agency;. and |
| (4) “State publication” means any publication, regardless of physical form or |
| characteristics produced, made available electronically, printed, purchased, or authorized for |
| distribution by a state agency, except those determined by the issuing agency to be required for |
| official use only for administrative or operational purposes. |
| 29-7-3. Creation. |
| There is hereby created, as a section of the state library, and under the direction of the state |
| librarian, a state publications clearinghouse for libraries, hereinafter referred to as “the |
| clearinghouse”. The clearinghouse shall promote the establishment of an orderly depository library |
| system and shall maintain a complete and permanent collection of state publications. To this end, |
| the secretary of state, with the assistance of the state librarian and the director of the state |
| publications clearinghouse for libraries and the clearinghouse advisory committee, shall adopt rules |
| and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. |
| 29-7-4. Director. |
| The state librarian shall designate from the state library staff a director of the state |
| publications clearinghouse. The director shall hold a graduate degree in library science from an |
| accredited library school. The clearinghouse director shall maintain guidelines for documents |
| officers on the state library’s website as well as in person to give guidance on what is a state |
| document and how to send it to the clearinghouse. The clearinghouse director shall maintain an |
| online catalog of recently acquired state publications regardless of form. |
| 29-7-5. Deposits of state publications. |
| Each state agency shall designate one person as its documents officer and shall notify the |
| clearinghouse of his or her identity. The documents officer shall, prior to public release of a state |
| publication, deposit with the clearinghouse a minimum of twenty-five (25) as many tangible copies |
| as are specified by the clearinghouse director of publications that are produced in printed or other |
| tangible forms and for electronic publications, one electronic copy and as many tangible copies as |
| are specified by the clearinghouse director to meet the needs of the depository library system to be |
| housed on a digital preservation platform and in an online catalog managed by the state library. |
| 29-7-6. Depository agreements. |
| The clearinghouse may enter into depository agreements with any municipal library, public |
| library, private college or university library, or research library in the state of Rhode Island, and |
| shall provide for distribution of state publications to the Center for Research Libraries and the |
| Library of Congress. The requirements for eligibility to become and continue as a depository library |
| shall be established by the clearinghouse. The standards shall include, and take into consideration, |
| the type of library, ability to preserve state publications and to make them available for public use, |
| and also such geographical locations as will make the publications conveniently accessible to |
| residents in all areas of the state, except as otherwise provided by law. |
| SECTION 4. Sections 29-7-7 and 29-7-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 29-7 entitled |
| "State Publications Clearinghouse" are hereby repealed. |
| 29-7-7. List of state publications. |
| The clearinghouse shall publish and distribute to depository libraries, all other libraries, |
| state agencies, and legislators, a quarterly checklist of state publications. |
| 29-7-8. Clearinghouse advisory committee. |
| There shall be a state publications clearinghouse advisory committee. The committee shall |
| consist of nine (9) members, five (5) of whom to be selected from the clearinghouse member |
| libraries and appointed by the state librarian to two-year (2) terms. The state librarian and the |
| director of the clearinghouse shall be ex-officio members of the committee. The chairperson of the |
| CRIARL government documents committee or designee, who shall be a member of the CRIARL |
| committee, and a state agency representative designated by the chief library officer shall also be |
| ex-officio members. The purpose of the committee shall be to advise the state librarian and the |
| clearinghouse director on the operation of the state publications clearinghouse for libraries. The |
| committee shall meet quarterly and shall elect a chairperson to preside at meetings, and a secretary |
| to record the meeting minutes and distribute them to the clearinghouse depository libraries. |
| SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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