§ 141.25. Basic standards for local libraries.
(a) A local library is any free public nonsectarian library—whether established and maintained by a municipality or by a private association, corporation, or group—which serves the informational, educational and recreational needs of all the residents of the area for which its governing body is responsible by providing free access including free lending and reference services to an organized and currently useful collection of printed items and other materials and to the services of a staff trained to recognize and provide for these needs.
(b) The central library unit of a local library is the principal resource library or administrative center.
(c) For a plan to be approved for the use of basic aid provided by section 303(1) of The Library Code (24 P.S. § 4303(1)) and the equal distribution grant provided by section 303(7) of The Library Code (24 P.S. § 4303(7)), a local library shall fulfill the following requirements:
(1) The local library shall be governed as specified in § 141.21(2)(i)(B) (relating to local libraries).
(2) The local library shall qualify for aid for the city, borough, town, or township in which the central library unit is located.
(3) Any municipality for which a local library claims and qualifies for State aid must be claimed by that local library in each year for not less than 10 successive years, and the minimum required local financial effort for such a municipality will be taken into account each year when determining the library’s eligibility for State aid except when any of the following apply:
(i) Special approval is granted by the State Librarian for excluding such municipality from such service area.
(ii) The municipal officers of such municipality resolve to withdraw from such service area.
(iii) The municipality is included in another library service area through merger of two or more libraries or by contractual agreement.
(4) Service shall be provided as follows:
(i) The local library must be open for service at least 20 hours per week during hours which are best suited to the needs of the residents of its service area.
(ii) Ready reference service must be available at all times the local library is open.
(iii) The staff of the local library shall be ready and willing to communicate with the district library center for reference assistance and interlibrary loans.
(iv) The local library shall have a telephone which is listed in the local directory.
(v) The local library shall have a sign which clearly identifies it, from the outside, as a public library.
(5) Library materials shall be provided as follows:
(i) The local library must have in its collection, available on its premises, not less than 6,000 items which are organized by subject and recorded in a manner which makes them easily accessible to the public. These items must be currently useful to the residents of the service area. Libraries with collections of less than 6,000 will not be denied State aid if they can demonstrate the usefulness and vitality of their collections by circulation per capita or collection turnover rate in excess of the average for other libraries of comparable size and service area.
(ii) The local library shall budget and expend annually for the purchase of library materials twice the amount of the equal distribution grant allotted to it. For example, if the equal distribution grant is $900, then the expenditure for library materials in the year of the grant must be not less than $1,800.
(iii) The collection shall be selected to serve the informational, educational, and recreational needs of all residents in its service area.
(iv) The local library shall have a collection of ready reference items of sufficient scope to meet the needs of the residents of its service area.
(v) The local library shall subscribe to and make available for use at least ten different periodicals which are indexed in the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature or other recognized periodical indexes.
(6) Personnel policies shall be as follows:
(i) The local library shall be in the charge of a person who has been trained to recognize and provide for the informational, educational, and recreational needs of the residents of the library’s service area. The training may be provided by the district library center.
(ii) The person in charge shall work on the premises of the local library not less than 20 hours weekly during hours when the library is open for service to the public.
(Editor’s Note: The Library Code (24 P.S. § § 4101—4503) was repealed by the act of November 1, 2012 (P.L. 1683, No. 210) and replaced by 24 Pa.C.S. Chapter 93 (relating to Public Library Code).)
Source The provisions of this § 141.25 adopted May 22, 1981, effective May 23, 1981, 11 Pa.B. 1800.
Cross References This section cited in 22 Pa. Code § 141.26 (relating to basic standards for local library members of a library system).
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