lished vote may require § 36 Establishment. By majority vote at any election, any city, How estabvillage, town, school district, or other body authorized to levy and Bv majority collect taxes, or by vote of its common council, or by action of a board of estimate and apportionment or other proper authority, any city, or by vote of its trustees, any village, may establish and maintain a free public library, with or without branches, either by itself or in connection with any other body authorized to maintain such library. Whenever 25 taxpayers shall so petition, the 25 taxpayers question of providing library facilities shall be voted on at the vote next election or meeting at which taxes may be voted, provided that due public notice shall have been given of the proposed action. A municipality or district named in this section may raise money by tax to establish and maintain a public library, or libraries, or to provide a building or rooms for its or their use, or to share the cost as agreed with other municipal or district bodies, or to pay for library privileges under a contract therefor. It may also acquire real or personal property for library purposes by gift, Municipality grant, devise or condemnation, and may take, buy, sell, hold and and maintain transfer either real or personal property and administer the same for public library purposes. By majority vote at any election any municipality or district or by three fourths vote of its council, any city may accept gifts, grants, devises or bequests for public library purposes on condition that a specified annual appropriation shall thereafter be made for maintenance of such library or libraries. Such acceptance, when approved by the Regents of the University under seal and recorded in its book of charters, and in a school not subject to their visitation when approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall be a binding contract, and such municipality and district shall levy and collect yearly the amount provided in the manner prescribed for other taxes. [As amended by laws of 1895, ch.859, §5, and 1902, ch.185, §1] For establishment of free public library by town, city or village, see General municipal law, 1892, §24. may establish libraries may volume for certified by § 37 Subsidies. By similar vote money may be granted towards Nonpublic the support of libraries not owned by the public, but maintained receive 10c a for its welfare and free use; provided, that such libraries shall be circulation subject to the inspection of the Regents and registered by them Regents as maintaining a proper standard, that the Regents shall certify what number of the books circulated are of such character as to merit a grant of public money and that the amount granted yearly to libraries on the basis of circulation shall not exceed 10 cents for each volume of the circulation thus certified by the Regents; and provided that the trustees of any institution supported under Tax first voted to be annual till changed by later vote this chapter by public money, in whole or in part, may, so far as consistent with free use by the public at reasonable or specified hours, close any of its museum collections at certain other hours, for study, to meet the demands of special students or for exhibition purposes, and may charge an admission fee at such hours, provided that all receipts from such fees shall be paid into the treasury and be used for the maintenance or enlargement of the institution. [As amended by laws of 1900, ch.481] Laws of 1886, ch.666 and laws of 1887, ch.313, authorizing local subsidies to libraries, were repealed by the Membership corporations law, 1895, ch.559. This section now contains the only provision of law for subsidies to libraries. § 38 Taxes. Taxes, in addition to those otherwise authorized, may be voted by any authority named in §36 and for any purpose specified in §36 and 37, and shall, unless otherwise directed by such vote, be considered as annual appropriations therefor till changed by further vote, and shall be levied and collected yearly, or as directed, as are other general taxes; and all money received from kept separate taxes or other sources for such library shall be kept as a separate library fund and expended only under direction of the library trustees on properly authenticated vouchers. Library money to be Powers Number to be 5 unless other wise specified in charter § 39 Trustees. Such libraries shall be managed by trustees who shall have all the powers of trustees of other educational institutions of the University as defined in this act; provided, unless otherwise specified in the charter, that the number of trustees shall be five; that they shall be elected by the legal voters, except that in cities. they shall be appointed by the mayor with the consent of the common council, from citizens of recognized fitness for such position; that the first trustees determine by lot whose term of office shall expire each year and that a new trustee shall be elected or appointed office, 5 years annually to serve for five years. Election or appointment Term of Charter from To report to other reports $ 40 Incorporation. Within one month after taking office, the first board of trustees shall apply to the Regents for a charter in accordance with the vote establishing the library. $41 Reports. Every library or museum which receives state aid or enjoys any exemption from taxation or other privilege not usually accorded to business corporations shall make the report Exempt from required by $25 of this act, and such report shall relieve the institution from making any report now required by statute or charter to be made to the Legislature, or to any department, court or other authority of the state. These reports shall be summarized and transmitted to the Legislature by the Regents with the annual reports of the State Library and State Museum. Reports to be summarized to residents § 42 Use. Every library established under $36 of this act shall Library free be forever free to the inhabitants of the locality which establishes it, subject always to rules of the library trustees, who shall have authority to exclude any person who wilfully violates such rules; and the trustees may, under such conditions as they think expedient, Exclusion extend the privileges of the library to persons living outside such Privileges to locality. [As amended by laws of 1895, ch.859, §6] nonresidents injury a offense § 43 Injuries to property. Whoever intentionally injures, de- Intentional faces or destroys any property belonging to or deposited in any state prison incorporated library, reading room, museum, or other educational institution, shall be punished by imprisonment in a state prison for not more than three years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than $500, or by both such fine and imprisonment. To like effect, Penal code, 647-48. § 44 Detention. Whoever wilfully detains any book, newspaper, Wilful detention punishmagazine, pamphlet, manuscript or other property belonging to any able by 6 months in jail public or incorporated library, reading room, museum or other or $25 fine educational institution, for 30 days after notice in writing to return the same, given after the expiration of the time which by the rules of such institution, such article or other property may be kept, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one nor more than $25, or by imprisonment in the jail not exceeding six months, and the said notice shall bear on its face a copy of this section. proved by Re right to re books and erty § 45 Transfer of libraries. Any corporation, association, school Transfer ap district or combination of districts may, by legal vote duly approved gents carries by the Regents, transfer the ownership and control of its library, ceive money, with all its appurtenances, to any public library in the University, other propand thereafter said public library shall be entitled to receive any money, books or other property from the state or other sources, to which said corporation, association or district would have been entitled but for such transfer, and the trustees or body making the transfer shall thereafter be relieved of all responsibility pertaining to property thus transferred. grants for lect § 46 Local neglect. If the local authorities of any library sup- Right to state ported wholly or in part by state money, fail to provide for the feited by negsafety and public usefulness of its books, the Regents shall in writing notify the trustees of said library what is necessary to meet the state's requirements, and on such notice all its rights to further grants of money or books from the state shall be suspended until the Regents certify that the requirements have been met; and if said Regents may trustees shall refuse or neglect to comply with such requirements gent trustees remove negli Control of property Regents may lend books to ries within 60 days after service of such notice, the Regents may remove them from office and thereafter all books and other library property wholly or in part paid for from state money shall be under the full and direct control of the Regents who, as shall seem best for public interests, may appoint new trustees to carry on the library, or may store it or distribute its books to other libraries. § 47 Loans of books from state. Under such rules as the certain libra- Regents may prescribe, they may lend from the State Library, duplicate department, or from books specially given or bought for this purpose, selections of books for a limited time to any public library in this state under visitation of the Regents, or to any community not yet having established such library, but which has conformed to the conditions required for such loans. Traveling libraries Instruction in organizing and administering libraries: by State Library staff or unpaid commission Advice and service of duplicate department free to residents of state Fees for certain cases Receipts to be used for University expenses State aid to free libraries § 48 Advice and instruction from State Library officers. The trustees or librarian or any citizen interested in any public library in this state shall be entitled to ask from the officers of the State Library any needed advice or instruction as to a library building, furniture and equipment, government and service, rules for readers, selecting, buying, cataloguing, shelving, lending books, or any other matter pertaining to the establishment, reorganization or administration of a public library. The Regents may provide for giving such advice and instruction either personally or through printed matter and correspondence, either by the State Library staff or by a library commission of competent experts appointed by the Regents to serve without salary. The Regents may, on request, select or buy books, or furnish1 instead of money apportioned, or may make exchanges and loans through the duplicate department of the State Library. Such assistance shall be free to residents of this state as far as practicable, but the Regents may, in their discretion, charge a proper fee to nonresidents or for assistance of a personal nature or for other reason not properly an expense to the state, but which may be authorized for the accommodation of users of the library. § 49 Use of fees and fines. The Regents may use receipts from fees, fines, gifts from private sources, or sale of Regents bulletins and similar printed matter, for buying books or for any other proper expenses of carrying on their work. § 50 Apportionment of public library money. Such sum as shall have been appropriated by the Legislature as public library money shall be paid annually by the Treasurer, on the warrant of the Comptroller, from the income of the United States deposit 1 So in the original. 2 Superseded by laws of 1991, chapter 457. approved fund, according to an apportionment to be made for the benefit of Conditions free libraries by the Regents in accordance with their rules and authenticated by their seal; provided that none of this money shall be spent for books except those approved or selected and fur- Books to be nished by the Regents; that no locality shall share in the apportionment unless it shall raise and use for the same purpose not less than an equal amount from taxation or other local sources; that for any part of the apportionment not payable directly to the library Equal amount trustees the Regents shall file with the Comptroller proper vouchers sources showing that it has been spent in accordance with law exclusively for books for free libraries or for proper expenses incurred for their benefit; and that books paid for by the state shall be subject to return to the Regents whenever the library shall neglect or refuse to Return of conform to the ordinances under which it secured them. from local grants by majority successive § 51 Abolition. Any library established by public vote or action of school authorities, or under $36 of this act, may be abolished only Abolish only by a majority vote at a regular annual election, ratified by a majority vote at two vote at the next annual election. If any such library is abolished its elections property shall be used first to return to the Regents, for the benefit of other public libraries in that locality, the equivalent of such sums as it may have received from the state or from other sources as gifts for public use. After such return any remaining property may be Disposition of used as directed in the vote abolishing the library, but if the entire library property does not exceed in value the amount of such gifts it may be transferred to the Regents for public use, and the trustees shall thereupon be freed from further responsibility. No abolition property tificate neces of a public library shall be lawful till the Regents grant a certificate Regents certhat its assets have been properly distributed and its abolition com- sary pleted in accordance with law. [As amended by laws of 1895, ch.859, $7] § 52 Laws repealed. Of the laws enumerated in the schedule Laws repealed hereto annexed that portion specified in the last column is repealed. impair action, rights, liabili § 53 Saving clause. The repeal of a law or any part of it by this Repeal not to act shall not affect or impair any act done or right accruing, accrued nor affect or acquired, or liability, penalty, forfeiture, or punishment incurred ties etc. prior to such repeal, under or by virtue of any law so repealed, but the same may be asserted, enforced, prosecuted, or inflicted as fully and to the same extent as if such law had not been repealed; and all actions and proceedings, civil or criminal, commenced under or by virtue of the laws so repealed and pending at the time of such repeal, may be prosecuted and defended to final effect in the same manner as |