PART 1. TEXAS STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES COMMISSION
CHAPTER 1. LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
SUBCHAPTER C. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITATION OF LIBRARIES IN THE STATE LIBRARY SYSTEM
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (commission) adopts amendments to 13 Texas Administrative Code §1.74, Local Operating Expenditures, and §1.81, Quantitative Standards for Accreditation of Library. The amendments for §1.74 are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the June 28, 2024, issue of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 4663). This rule will not be republished. The amendments for §1.81 are adopted with changes to the proposed text to make grammatical corrections as published in the June 28, 2024, issue of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 4663). This rule will be republished.
EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS. An amendment to §1.74, Local Operating Expenditures, adds Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 to subsection (b), requiring a public library applying for accreditation to have minimum total local expenditures of $21,000 in local fiscal year 2025, the same level required for FY 2024.
Amendments to §1.81, Quantitative Standards for Accreditation of Library, add FY 2025 to each subparagraph establishing the local expenditure requirements for the library, keeping the requirements for FY 2025 the same as for FY 2024.
SUMMARY OF COMMENTS. The commission did not receive any comments on the proposed amendments.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY. The amendments are adopted under Government Code, §441.135, which authorizes the commission to adopt guidelines for the awarding of grants; §441.136, which authorizes the commission to adopt rules necessary to the administration of the program of state grants, including qualifications for major resource system membership; §441.127, which provides that to be eligible for membership in a major resource system or regional library system, a library must meet the accreditation standards established by the commission; and §441.122(1) and (2), which defines "accreditation of libraries" as the evaluation and rating of libraries according to commission accreditation standards and "accreditation standards" as the criteria established by the commission that a library must meet to be accredited and eligible for membership in a major resource system.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE. Government Code, Chapter 441.
§1.81.Quantitative Standards for Accreditation of Library.
(a) The definition of "local fiscal year" is the fiscal year in which January 1 of that year falls.
(b) The following are the minimum requirements for membership in the state library system:
(1) A library serving a population of at least 500,001 persons must:
(A) have local expenditures amounting to at least $13.82 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $13.89 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $13.96 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $14.03 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 64 hours per week;
(E) employ a library director for at least 40 hours per week in library duties; and
(F) employ twelve full-time equivalent professional librarians, with one additional full-time equivalent professional librarian for every 50,000 persons above 500,000.
(2) A library serving a population of 200,001 - 500,000 persons must:
(A) have local expenditures amounting to at least $11.95 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $12.01 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $12.07 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $12.13 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 64 hours per week;
(E) employ a library director for at least 40 hours per week in library duties; and
(F) employ six full-time equivalent professional librarians, with one additional full-time equivalent professional librarian for every 50,000 persons above 200,000.
(3) A library serving a population of 100,001 - 200,000 persons must:
(A) have local expenditures amounting to at least $9.60 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $9.79 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $9.98 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $10.18 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 54 hours per week;
(E) employ a library director for at least 40 hours per week in library duties; and
(F) employ four full-time equivalent professional librarians, with one additional full-time equivalent professional librarian for each 50,000 persons above 100,000.
(4) A library serving a population of 50,001 - 100,000 persons must:
(A) have local expenditures amounting to at least $8.00 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $8.16 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $8.32 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and at least $8.48 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 48 hours per week;
(E) employ a library director for at least 40 hours per week in library duties; and
(F) employ at least two full-time equivalent professional librarians.
(5) A library serving a population of 25,001 - 50,000 persons must:
(A) have local expenditures of at least $5.31 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $5.42 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $5.52 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $5.63 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 40 hours per week;
(E) employ a library director for at least 40 hours per week in library duties; and
(F) employ at least one full-time equivalent professional librarian.
(6) A library serving a population of 10,001 - 25,000 persons must:
(A) have local expenditures of at least $4.25 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $4.34 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $4.42 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $4.51 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials, provided that in either case a minimum of 7,500 items are held;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 30 hours per week; and
(E) employ a library director for at least 30 hours per week in library duties.
(7) A library serving a population of 5,001 - 10,000 must:
(A) have local expenditures of at least $3.97 per capita in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $4.05 per capita in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $4.13 per capita in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $4.21 per capita in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials; provided that in either case a minimum of 7,500 items are held;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 20 hours per week; and
(E) employ a library director for at least 20 hours per week in library duties.
(8) A library serving a population of 5,000 or fewer persons must:
(A) have local per capita expenditures or minimum total local expenditures, whichever is greater, of $3.70 per capita or $10,650 in local fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015; $3.77 per capita or $15,000 total in local fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018; $3.85 per capita or $18,000 total in local fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021; and $3.92 per capita or $21,000 in local fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
(B) have at least one item of library materials per capita or expend at least 15% of the local expenditures on the purchase of library materials, provided that in either case a minimum of 7,500 items are held;
(C) have at least 1% of total items in collection published in the last five years;
(D) be open for service not less than 20 hours per week; and
(E) employ a library director for at least 20 hours per week in library duties.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 9, 2024.
TRD-202403651
Sarah Swanson
General Counsel
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Effective date: August 29, 2024
Proposal publication date: June 28, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-5460
SUBCHAPTER A. PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES OF THE COMMISSION
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (commission) adopts amendments to 13 Texas Administrative Code §2.51, Public Record Fees, and §2.52, Customer Service Policies. The amendments are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the May 3, 2024, issue of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 2873) and will not be republished.
EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS. Amendments to §2.51 update and clarify language for readability and consistency with other commission rules and delete language that is unnecessary, either because it is obsolete or because it is repetitive of other portions of the rule or existing law and therefore not necessary in the rule. References to the commission are changed to "agency" throughout the rule for consistency with the commission's other rules and in accordance with the definitions of "commission" and "agency" in Chapter 2. The update to the legal citation in subsection (a) ensures any changes to that chapter are automatically included in the commission's rule. The requirement to review the fee schedule annually is deleted. Amendments to subsection (b)(6) simplify the language regarding third party access charges. Subsection (c) is deleted, as there is no need to restate copyright law in administrative rule, and subsection (d) is deleted as it is redundant of subsection (a).
Amendments to §2.52 change the name of the section to Patron Registration and Customer Service and simplify and clarify the rule language. The amendments to subsection (a) clarify that any individual aged 17 or older who wishes to access materials in the State Archives or access certain library services, including borrowing items from the agency's circulating collections, interlibrary loan, and remote access to TexShare databases, must register in person each year by presenting a current government-issued photo identification, signing a registration agreement, and providing contact information. The amendments also clarify that patrons of the State Archives must also comply with the commission's rule regarding access to archival state records and other historical resources, §10.2. The amendments simplify the language noting that only individuals are eligible for patron registration and deletes subsection (a)(4) as it is unnecessary given the identification of services that require registration in subsection (a)(1).
Amendments to subsections (b) and (c) streamline language and simplify the subsections. Subsections (d) and (e) are deleted as the rule's applicability and services requiring registration are noted in subsection (a)(1). Subsection (f) is deleted as it is obsolete. Finally, amendments to subsection (g), which will become subsection (d) once amended, simplify and clarify the language regarding what might lead to suspension of a patron's borrowing privileges and add language noting that any individual who has been suspended may appeal to the director and librarian in compliance with the commission's protest procedure rule.
SUMMARY OF COMMENTS. The Commission did not receive any comments on the proposed amendments.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY. The amendments are adopted under Government Code, §2001.004, which requires state agencies to adopt rules of practice stating the nature and requirements of all available formal and informal procedures; §552.230, which authorizes governmental bodies to adopt reasonable rules of procedure under which public information may be inspected and copied; §603.004, which authorizes the state librarian to charge for a photographic copy a fee determined by the commission with reference to the amount of labor, supplies, and materials required; and, more specifically, §441.193. which provides that the commission shall adopt rules regarding public access to archival state records and other historical resources in the possession of the commission; and §441.196, which provides the commission may sell copies of state archival records and other historical resources in its possession at a price not exceeding 25 percent above the cost of publishing or producing the copies.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE. Government Code, Chapter 441.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 9, 2024.
TRD-202403652
Sarah Swanson
General Counsel
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Effective date: August 29, 2024
Proposal publication date: May 3, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-5460
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (commission) adopts amendments to 13 Texas Administrative Code §10.2, Public Access to Archival State Records and Other Historical Resources. The amendments are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the May 3, 2024, issue of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 2876). The rule will not be republished.
EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS. An amendment to subsection (a)(1) adds a reference to §2.52, Patron Registration and Customer Service. An amendment to subsection (a)(3) adds "government-issued" before "photo identification" for consistency with the recent amendments to §2.52. The other amendments clarify who is required to register as a patron and change the word "survival" to "preservation" for consistency with the agency's mission.
SUMMARY OF COMMENTS. The Commission did not receive any comments on the proposed amendments.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY. The amendments are adopted under Government Code, §441.190; which authorizes the commission to adopt rules establishing standards and procedures for the protection, maintenance, and storage of state records, paying particular attention to the maintenance, storage, and protection of archival and vital state records; and §441.193, which authorizes the commission to adopt rules regarding public access to the archival state records and other historical resources in the possession of the commission.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE. Government Code, Chapter 441, Subchapter L, Preservation and Management of State Records and Other Historical Resources.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 9, 2024.
TRD-202403653
Sarah Swanson
General Counsel
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Effective date: August 29, 2024
Proposal publication date: May 3, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-5460