Public Library Districts: An Introduction

Creating Public Library Districts in New York State: a "how-to" guide

Introduction

This web-based guide to creating Public Library Districts in New York State was developed by Panz Library Consulting, under a contract with the New York State Library Division of Library Development. This product is intended to:

• Serve as a comprehensive resource for library trustees and directors seeking information on public library districts.
• Serve as a training resource for library system staff and others working with library trustees and directors to create library districts.
• Bring together relevant laws and regulations and practical examples of specific activities that are related to the creation of public library districts.

This product is meant to be a comprehensive source of information on creating public library districts and not a presentation resource. For an overview of Public Library Districts that could be used in training programs – please see the "Public Library Districts: What they are & How they are created" (revised 4/07) presentation included within this web product. Due to the volume of material included and the ongoing changes in law and regulation, it is not practical to produce a print version of this entire guide. However, portions of the guide can be extracted and printed.

A sample flyer [in .PDF format] that focuses on the advantages of creating public library districts and a brief explanation and steps for creating three common types of library districts is available.

Contents

Acknowledgements

This product would not have been possible without the previous efforts of the New York State Library's Division of Library Development and Library Systems in New York State to collect and share training materials used to encourage libraries to create public library districts and information provided by public libraries that have gone through the transition.

Special thanks are due to the members of the New York Library Association Task Force on Public Library Districts. This group of experts not only provided input on preliminary drafts of this web-based guide but also provided answers to complicated questions regarding the process for creating public library districts.

Go to Public Library Districts home page | Go to Library Development home page

January 27, 2005; last modified on February 6, 2008 -- asm
For questions or comments, contact Lisa Areford.
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/pldtools/guide/index.html