A 3119: Ensures that library staff of free association, public, and hospital libraries, and with certain advice, Indian libraries, are able to develop collections, services, and programming that reflect the values and protections established under the human rights law and the equal rights amendment to the state constitution.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3119 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 23, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. KELLES, SEAWRIGHT, EACHUS, SIMON, LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring certain libraries to adopt policies ensuring that library staff are able to curate collections, services, and programming that reflect diverse interests The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "open shelves act". 3 § 2. Section 254 of the education law, as amended by chapter 718 of 4 the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 254. Standards of library service. 1. The regents shall have power 6 to fix standards of library service for every free association, public 7 and hospital library or, with the advice of the appropriate tribal 8 government and library board of trustees, Indian library which receives 9 any portion of the moneys appropriated by the state to aid such 10 libraries, or which is supported in whole or in part by tax levied by 11 any municipality or district. In the case of a hospital library or a 12 library serving a hospital, such standards shall be established in 13 consultation with the commissioner of health. If any such library shall 14 fail to comply with the regents requirements, such library shall not 15 receive any portion of the moneys appropriated by the state for free, 16 hospital or Indian libraries nor shall any tax be levied by any munici- 17 pality or district for the support in whole or in part of such library. 18 2. Such standards shall require every free association, public, and 19 hospital library or, with the advice of the appropriate tribal govern- 20 ment and library board of trustees, Indian library, which receives any 21 portion of the moneys appropriated by the state to aid such libraries, 22 to adopt policies and procedures that ensure library staff are able to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00089-02-5 
 A. 3119 2 1 curate and develop collections, services, and programming that reflect 2 the interests of all people of the community that the library serves. 3 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 4 have become a law.