Ala. Admin. Code r. 520-2-1-.01

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 520-2-1-.01 - Library Services And Technology Act (LSTA) State-Administered Program

(1)GENERAL.

(a) The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) of 1996 will hereinafter be referred to either by its full name, by the abbreviation "LSTA", or by the word "Act".

(b) The purposes of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) are to:

1. Enhance coordination among Federal programs that relate to library and information services;

2. Promote continuous improvement in library services in all types of libraries in order to better serve the people of the United States;

3. Facilitate access to resources in all types of libraries for the purpose of cultivating an educated and informed citizenry;

4. Encourage resource sharing among all types of libraries for the purpose of achieving economical and efficient delivery of library services to the public;

5. Promote literacy, education, and lifelong learning and to enhance and expand the services and resources provided by libraries, including those services and resources relating to workforce development, 21^st century skills, and digital literacy skills;

6. Enhance the skills of the current library workforce and to recruit future professionals to the field of library and information services;

7. Ensure the preservation of knowledge and library collections in all formats and to enable libraries to serve their communities during disasters;

8. Enhance the role of libraries within the information infrastructure of the United States in order to support research, education, and innovation; and

9. Promote library services that provide users with access to information through national, state, local, regional, and international collaborations and networks.

(c)Use of Funds Within the States. Insofar as it is consistent with the purposes of the Act, the determination of the best uses of the funds provided under the Act shall be reserved to the States in accordance with the State five year plan. In Alabama, development of the five year plan and administration of the funds are the responsibilities of the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS), the official state agency charged with the extension and development of public library services.

(2)ACTIVITIES ALLOWABLE UNDER THE LIBRARY SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY ACT. Funds may be provided to assist States to:

(a) Expand services for learning and access to information and educational resources in a variety of formats, in all types of libraries, for individuals of all ages in order to support such individuals' needs for education, lifelong learning, workforce development, and digital literacy skills;

(b) Establish or enhance electronic and other linkages and improved coordination among and between libraries and entities for the purpose of improving the quality of and access to library and information services;

(c) Provide training and professional development, including continuing education, to enhance the skills of the current library workforce and leadership, and advance the delivery of library and information services;

(d) Enhance efforts to recruit future professionals to the field of library and information services;

(e) Develop public and private partnerships with other agencies and community-based organizations;

(f) Target library services to individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and to individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills;

(g) Target library and information services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities, including children (from birth through age 17) from families with incomes below the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and revised annually in accordance with section 9902(2) of title 42) applicable to a family of the size involved; and

(h) Develop library services that provide all users access to information through local, state, regional, national, and international collaborations and networks;

(3)ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE PLAN.

(a)Policy Formulation, Planning, Evaluation: The following groups participate in policy formulation, planning, and/or evaluation of the use of LSTA funds:

1. APLS Executive Board.

2. State Advisory Council on Libraries (LSTA Advisory Council).

3. U.S. National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

4. APLS staff, individual librarians, trustees, users, and other library consumer organizations.

(b)Policy Review and Approval Process:

1. Notice of the intent to adopt or revise rules and regulations is announced to the library community through regular APLS communication channels.

2. Draft rules and regulations are presented for formal review to the LSTA Advisory Council and to the APLS Executive Board.

3. Draft rules and regulations, including priorities for funding established by the APLS Executive Board, are submitted to the Administrative Procedures Division of the Legislative Reference Service.

4. The Administrative Procedures Division announces the proposed rules changes in the Administrative Monthly. During the 35-day period following publication of the announcement, the public may submit written comments about the proposed changes. In addition, oral and/or written comments may be made at a public hearing held during the 35-day period at a date specified in the announcement.

5. The APLS Executive Board will provide final approval of rules and regulations.

(c)Policy Dissemination and Distribution Process:

1. Rules and regulations adopted by the APLS Executive Board are published through regular APLS communication channels.

2. Copies of rules and regulations are furnished to the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) Clearinghouse for dissemination to the library profession.

3. Notice of the publication of rules and regulations is sent to media through regular APLS communication channels.

(d)Program Evaluation: Evaluation of the long-range program is conducted and all activities funded through LSTA are continuously monitored. The procedures for grant application and evaluation include the following:

1. The applicant prepares and submits a formal application, with the help of APLS staff if needed. The proposals are reviewed by APLS staff and evaluated by the LSTA Advisory Council based on established criteria. LSTA Advisory Council recommendations are sent to the APLS Executive Board, which makes the awards.

2. The liaison staff may conduct formal on-site reviews of the projects for evaluation purposes. Their reports will indicate the progress of the project in terms of meeting the library needs stated in the original proposal. Copies of the reports are on file at APLS.

(e)Definitions:

1.Library service means the performance of all activities of a library relating to the collection and organization of library materials and to making the materials and information of a library available to the public.

2.Research library means a library that makes publicly available library services and materials suitable for scholarly research and not otherwise available to the public.

3.Academic library means a library that is an integral part of an institution of higher education.

4.Public elementary school or secondary school library means a library that is an integral part of a public elementary school or secondary school.

5.Public library is a restricted term which means only 1) a library established under the Code of Alabama 1975, sections 11-90-(1-4), and open for regular public service, as determined by APLS, and 2) the one library which has been established as a library district under Legislative Act 88-258, as amended by Legislative Act 2000-358 (the North Shelby County Library). Such libraries have the following common characteristics: they are general purpose, broad-based libraries which serve the educational, informational, and recreational needs of persons of all ages in a community, with collections consisting of materials in many subject areas (both fiction and nonfiction) and in a variety of formats in an effort to meet the library needs of all of the residents. They provide such services free of charge to all residents within their legal service areas, such as a town, city, county, or district, and they receive their financial support in whole or in part from public funds. They are operated by a single legally established policy-making board of trustees. Such libraries may or may not have branch library agencies.

6.Special library means a library which (a) has been established to serve primarily a limited clientele or a clientele with special information needs, with a collection specializing in one subject or a very limited number of related subjects; and (b) is not an integral part of an institution of higher education. A special library may receive its support privately or in whole or in part from public funds. A special library is not a public library (as defined above).

7.Public library system means an organization which is composed of two or more legally established autonomous public libraries eligible to receive state aid. A public library system is characterized by multiple policy-making library boards operating within a framework of written contracts.

8.Interlibrary cooperation means the systematic and effective coordination among public libraries, public elementary school libraries, public secondary school libraries, academic libraries, and research libraries for resource sharing and other programs.

9.Technology enhancement means the acquisition, installation, maintenance, or replacement, of technological equipment (including library bibliographic technological equipment) necessary to provide access to information in electronic and other formats made possible by new information and communications technologies.

10.Grantee means an organization which has received a grant contract from APLS.

(f)Eligible Applicants: The following parties are eligible to apply for grants:

1. Only those public libraries and public library systems eligible to receive state aid in accordance with the Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 520-2-2, may apply for grants, providing that all state aid required documents of the applicant library are on file at APLS and providing that the applicant also meets any additional stipulations of the grant category for which the applicant is applying.

2. Any state-funded department that provides library services to institutionalized persons. The following conditions apply:

(i) Partner with an Alabama public library.

(ii) Each department retains responsibility for provision of public library services within its institutions in accordance with the institution's mission, goals, and obj ectives.

(iii) Each department and public library partner must have on file at APLS a current five-year plan.

(iv) Within the purposes of the Act, LSTA funds may be used to assist the departments in the improvement of institutional library services. Planning for use of the funds should include public library staff and representatives from the institution, and, where they exist, advisory groups with delineated responsibilities.

(g)Special conditions for "high-risk" grantees (2 CFR 200.207) .

1. A grantee may be considered "high-risk" if an awarding agency determines that a grantee:

(i) has a history of unsatisfactory performance, or

(ii) is not financially stable or responsible.

2. If APLS determines that an award will be made, special conditions and/or restrictions shall be included in the award. Special restrictions may include:

(i) requiring additional, more detailed financial reports;

(ii) additional project monitoring;

(iii) requiring the grantee to obtain technical or management assistance; or

(iv) establishing additional prior approvals.

3. If an awarding agency decides to impose such conditions, the awarding official will notify the grantee as early as possible, in writing, of:

(i) the nature of the special conditions/resfrictions;

(ii) the reason(s) for imposing them;

(iii) the corrective actions which must be taken before they will be removed and the time allowed for completing the corrective actions and

(iv) the method of requesting reconsideration of the conditions/restrictions imposed.

(h)Remedies for noncompliance (2 CFR 200.338) .

1. If a grantee fails to comply with any term of an award, whether stated in a federal statute or regulation, an assurance, in a state plan or application, a notice of award, or elsewhere, the awarding agency may take one or more of the following actions, as appropriate in the circumstances:

(i) temporarily withhold cash payments pending correction of the deficiency by the grantee;

(ii) disallow all or part of the cost of the activity or action not in compliance;

(iii) wholly or partly suspend or terminate the current award for the grantee's program;

(iv) withhold further awards for the program; or

(v) take other remedies that may be legally available.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 520-2-1-.01

Effective July 24, 1998. Repealed and New Rule: Filled March 19, 1999; effective July 24, 1998. Repealed and New Rule: Filed December 15, 1999; effective January 19, 2000. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 13, 2000, effective October 18, 2000. Repealed and New Rule: Filed August 14, 2001; effective September 18, 2001. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 19, 2002; effective October 24, 2002. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 19, 2003; effective October 24, 2003. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 27, 2004; effective November 1, 2004. Repealed and New Rule: Filed July 22, 2005; effective August 26, 2005. Repealed and New Rule: Filed July 21, 2006; effective August 25, 2006. Repealed and New Rule: Filed February 2, 2007; effective March 9, 2007. Repealed and New Rule: Filed February 8, 2008; effective March 14, 2008. Repealed and New Rule: Filed March 31, 2009; effective May 6, 2009. Repealed and New Rule: Filed March 22, 2010; effective April 26, 2010. Repealed and New Rule: Filed January 12, 2011; effective February 16, 2011.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVII, Issue No. 03, December 28, 2018, eff. 1/24/2019.

Author: Nancy C. Pack, Director

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§41-8-(1-10) . Title 20, U.S. Code, §§9121-9163, Museum and Library Services Act of 1996.