Submission Date:
Question:
Could you please provide the effective date of 8 CRR-NY 90.2?
Are all public libraries required to publish their budgets online on their websites?
Answer:
For readers that don’t see Education Department regulations as subtitles to the movie of your life,[1] these questions pertain to the state regulations governing public libraries, which have changed significantly in recent years.
For context, here is the full legal citation hierarchy we are in:
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
TITLE 8
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
CHAPTER II. REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER
SUBCHAPTER D. LIBRARIES
PART 90. PUBLIC AND FREE ASSOCIATION LIBRARIES
§ 90.2 Standards for registration of public, free association and Indian libraries[2]
That’s a deep bowl of citation soup! To avoid having to list it all, it generally gets shortened (as the member has done) to “8 NY-CRR 90.2.” But since “8 NY-CRR 90.2” sounds a bit like a Star Wars droid name, for this answer, let’s go with the “90.2 Requirements.”
This question about the 90.2 Requirements is understandable. Generally, the effective date of a regulation is pretty straightforward, but this one is a tad complex, because while current revision went into effect August 1, 2018,[3] it delayed its effective date as follows:
Any public, free association or Indian library that was registered by the department on or before December 31, 2020, shall meet the following registration requirements by January 1, 2021 to continue to be registered by the department… [emphasis added]
In other words, if you were an existing registered library as of August 1, 2018, you had 2 years and 4 months’ warning to bring things up to snuff; if you were a new library after January 1, 2021, you obtained your original registration under these standards.
This delay provided a chance for existing libraries to budget and plan for meeting the new standards, which was helpful, because as stated above, the 2018 amendment added quite a few requirements.[4]
So, to answer the first question: In legal parlance, the current version was “effective” on August 1, 2018 (the date of the amendment) but went into effect on January 1, 2021.
Which brings us to the next question: Are all public libraries required to publish their budgets online on their websites?
Because this question came linked with the question about the 90.2 Requirements, I believe it is inspired by this new[5] requirement:
(5) annually prepares and publishes a board-approved, written budget, which enables the library to address the community's needs, as outlined in the library's long-range plan of service; [emphasis added]
This use of “publish” is not a defined term,[6] so the mode of publication is not set by the 90.2 Requirements. However, due to the requirement that all registered libraries must conduct their meetings per the Open Meetings Law,[7] the budget likely should be part of a posted board packet.[8]
So, the answer to the second question is: Unless your library has no website, there is a risk of non-compliance with the Open Meetings Law if the budget is not at least posted online 24 hours before the meeting where the board first considers it. After that, how the library chooses to further “publish” it[9] as required by 90.2 is up to the library.
A small plea for accessibility: No matter what form the publication required by the 90.2 Requirements takes, it is wise to ensure it can be converted to large print, Braille, or audio file, for accessibility.
Thank you for two very thoughtful questions!
[1] If at some point you didn’t go to sleep muttering “minimum standards,” “direct access,” or “trustee training,” this means you.
[2] I have been wading in these regs for so long, this is like reading a recipe, but I remember my first law class, when I saw that little wiggly sigil (it means “section”) and wondered if I should go back to studying Russian history.
[3] State Education Department’s memo on the 2018 amendment is here:
https://www.regents.nysed.gov/sites/regents/files/318ced1.pdf.
[4] This change is actually easy to see, because Section 90.2 still lists the “old” standards (in part “a”), and the “new” (in part “b”). Just do a search for “8 NYCRR 90.2” and you’ll see it.
[5] Newish? I am writing this in December, 2024. These regulations no longer have fresh new car smell.
[6] There are all sorts of publication requirements and definitions in state law and regulations. This use doesn’t synch up with any of them.
[7] See Education Law § 260-a.
[8] The Open Meetings Law requires that if an agency has “a regularly and routinely updated website and utilizes a high speed internet connection, such records shall be posted on the website to the extent practicable at least twenty-four hours prior to the meeting.” [OML § 103(e)].
[9] Aside from hard copy, it would be cool to see a budget as a poster, or a Lego tower (remove a brick when you have to cut an item), or a tapestry.
Tag:
Public Libraries, Association Libraries, OML, Minimum standards
