Any public, academic, school and special
library within a region will be eligible to
participate as a member of a Regional Library
System upon meeting certain requirements.
These requirements are that the participating
library shall:
- be part of an organization or institution
that has a legal basis for operation;
- have an organized collection of information
and material accessible for use by its designated
clientele;
- have a fixed location;
- have established and posted hours of service;
- have an on-site, paid librarian-in-charge
who meets Massachusetts education and certification
requirements in effect for that type of
library. (Each public school library
member must be staffed by a full or part-time
librarian meeting Massachusetts certification
requirements as a school library teacher;
each non-public school library member must
be staffed by a full or part-time librarian
meeting Massachusetts certification requirements
or possessing a Masters in Library Science
degree;)
- have a written mission statement and service
objectives;
- have an established funding base;
- be authorized to participate by its appropriate
administrative authority;
- agree to the terms and conditions of the
Regional Library System membership agreement
as established by the Board of Library Commissioners.
This agreement shall include certification
by each member library that it meets the
minimum eligiblity requirements for participation,
agrees to participate in interlibrary loan
activities within the Commonwealth in accordance
with the National Interlibrary Loan
Code for the United States and agrees
to provide data on the use of regional and
statewide library materials and services.
All public libraries that are currently
members of a Regional Public Library System
are automatically members of the Regional
Library System.
Clarifications
Public Library Branches
Public library branches are
not eligible to participate as individual
members of a regional library system.
Those libraries which are defined as "multiple
independent institutions" under M.G.L.
78:19 A&B are members and have a voting
representative on the Regional Council of
Members. Regional protocols for particular
services, however, may provide services to
individual branches (as in the case of supplemental
reference) or may provide for a single access
point for all public libraries within a municipality
(as in the case of delivery service.)
Public School Libraries
Effective October 6, 1997, all
public school library applications must be
signed by the district superintendent and
principal. In reviewing applications
for compliance with the guidelines, you may
apply the guideline that a certified librarian
who travels between schools can serve no more
than five schools (one day a week at each
school.) "Budget" must include an
annual budget for books and other library
materials.
Charter schools are considered
a single member within a public school district.
Each public school district has one voting
representative to the regional Council of
Members.
Multiple Libraries Within
a Campus and Multicampus Institutions
Individual
libraries within an institution (such as a
college, corporation, trial court law library
or Department of Corrections library) which
are located in separate municipalities will
have separate voting representatives to the
regional Council of Members in that region.
Multiple libraries within a single institution
on a single campus that do not share staff
are eligible to become individual members
but will share one voting representative to
the regional Council of Members.
Private schools within each
municipality must select a single voting representative
to the Council of Members. This representative
should be selected by these libraries on an
annual basis.
April 24, 1997 - Massachusetts
Board of Library Commissioners (clarified
October 3, 1997.)
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