Section 677. Selecting books.

678. Detention.

679. Injuries to property.

680. Home education.

681. State museum.

682. Collections made by the staff.

683. Inspection of museum property.

684. State teachers' library.

685. School libraries.

686. Superintendent to make rules.

687. Books for libraries.

688. School district librarian.

689. Compensation of librarian.

690. When district to share in library money.

691. Disposition of unappropriated library money.

[General note. This article is intended to embrace the whole subject of libraries, so far as they are under any public supervision. It seemed desirable that the education law should contain the whole law upon this subject. Libraries are an important part of a broad scheme of education, and we have here included not only the libraries which are distinctively connected with schools or institutions of learning, but other public libraries. A distinctive departure from the present law is the inclusion of law libraries, but we think that they should be made a part of the state system of libraries, connected with the state library, and under the supervision of the regents. They are now under local supervision, and are the subject of various statutes which we propose to repeal.

Nearly all the libraries included in this article are connected with the state library, either directly or indirectly, and that

great library is made the source of supply for these lesser libraries, and the regents are made the source of authority for their care and maintenance. The libraries of the court of appeals, of the judges of the court, and of the attorney-general, while not subject to such public use as the others, are, nevertheless, public libraries, maintained by the state, and should, we think, be included in a general library scheme. We have made all the local judicial district and other local public law libraries distinctively district libraries. We also propose to change the names of the libraries at Syracuse and Rochester, now known as court of appeals libraries. The library at Syracuse will be hereafter known as the district library at Syracuse, and the library at Rochester as the appellate division library for the fourth department. The other departments already have libraries, and this change at Rochester provides a library for the fourth department, but the status of the library itself is not changed, nor is its use by the public affected. The law libraries are made branches of the state library, and can be supplied with books from the duplicate department, but in addition to that, the judges can require the purchase of books for the libraries, and thus direct to a considerable extent the character and number of the books that are added from time to time.

We have rewritten the whole subject of chartered and registered libraries, making what seems to be a harmonious scheme of administration of this class of libraries and giving the regents the entire general supervision of them. We have also provided for the continuance of the state teachers' library and for a modified use of the local school libraries.

A very important feature of modern library distribution and use is the "traveling library," established by the university.

It is now included in the regulations of the regents, but we think

it should be made a part of the statute and have prepared a section accordingly.

The following laws have been revised in this article:

Consolidated school law, tit. XIII, §§ 1-8, relating to school

libraries.

L. 1892, ch. 573, § 9, as amended by L. 1895, ch. 546, relating to the state teachers' library.

University law, §§ 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, relating to the state library and to other public libraries under the supervision of the regents.

The sections of this article relating to law libraries are a substitute for the following laws:

Appellate division library in the first department, L. 1895, ch. 553, § 10; L. 1897, ch. 81.

Appellate division library in the second department, L. 1897, ch. 185.

Appellate division library in the third department, L. 1896, ch. 434, and L. 1897, ch. 394.

Binghamton, L. 1859, ch. 230; L. 1860, ch. 402; L. 1872, ch. 392; L. 1891, ch. 329; L. 1893, ch. 58, and L. 1897, ch. 482. Brooklyn, L. 1863, ch. 463.

Buffalo, L. 1863, ch. 401, and L. 1871, ch. 747.

Court of appeals, L. 1849, ch. 300, and L. 1871, ch. 718.

Delhi, L. 1882, ch. 51.

Elmira, L. 1895, ch. 231.

Kingston, L. 1874, ch. 323, part of § 2, and L. 1876, ch. 318.

Newburgh, L. 1893, ch. 63.

New York, L. 1882, ch. 410, §§ 1095, 1096.

Saratoga Springs, L. 1880, ch. 400.

Schenectady, L. 1866, ch. 882.

Utica, L. 1876, ch. 193, part of § 1, and L. 1877, ch. 94, and L. 1887, ch. 14.

And the following general appropriation acts for district libraries: L. 1880, ch. 400; L. 1881, ch. 234; L. 1883, ch. 275; L. 1888, ch. 444, and L. 1896, ch. 71.

Section 24 of the general municipal law, as amended by L. 1896, ch. 576.]

§ 630. Definitions.-As used in this chapter:

1. "Library" includes reference and circulating libraries, reading rooms and combined libraries and museums.

2. A chartered library is one incorporated by the regents or under a general or special law, but not a library conducted under a charter held for other than library purposes by a municipal or other corporation.

3. A public library" is a chartered library for free public use, owned or controlled by a municipality or district. The state library and its branches are also public libraries.

66

4. A free library" is a library for free public use, but not owned or controlled by a municipality or district.

5. "Registered" means registered by the university after official inspection, as maintaining proper library standards.

6. "Books" includes books, pamphlets, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, photographs, engravings or other property belonging in a library.

[New.]

§ 631. Classification of libraries. The libraries included in this article are classified as follows:

1. The state library.

2. Traveling libraries.

3. The libraries of the senate and assembly.

4. The general consultation library of the court of appeals at Albany, and also the libraries assigned to the several judges of the court.

5. Libraries of the appellate divisions of the supreme court.

6. Judicial district libraries.

7. Attorney-general's library.

8. Libraries in public institutions.

9. Chartered public libraries.

10. Chartered free libraries and museums.

11. State teachers' library.

12. School libraries.

[New.]

§ 632. Supervision.- The libraries included in this article, except as otherwise herein provided, are under supervision of the regents, except the libraries of the senate and assembly, which are under their supervision; the state teachers' library and the school libraries, which are under supervision of the state superintendent; the consultation library of the court of appeals, at Albany, which is under supervision of that court; the several libraries assigned to the judges of the court of appeals, which are under supervision of the respective judges; and the attorney-general's library, which is under his supervision.

[New.]

§ 633. State library; how constituted.-The state library, established in the year eighteen hundred and eighteen for the use of the government and people of this state, is continued and consists of:

1. Manuscript or printed papers of the legislature usually termed "on file," and which have been on file more than two