THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

RELATIVE TO THE

NEW-YORK STATE LIBRARY.

I. EXTRACTS FROM THE LAWS OF THE STATE, RELATIVE TO THE LIBRARY.

SECTION 1*. The Regents of the University of the State of New-York are hereby constituted, and shall continue, the Trustees of the State Library. Laws of 1844: Chap. 255, sec. 1.

§ 2. The trustees hereby appointed shall have power from time to time to appoint a librarian to superintend and take care of said library, and to prescribe such rules and regulations for the government of the library as they shall think proper, and to remove the librarian at any time when they shall deem it expedient; but for the purpose of removing or appointing a librarian, twelve of the said trustees shall be required to form a quorum.

Same chapter, sec. 3. §3. The assistant librarian and messenger shall be appointed by the trustees of the library. Laws of 1848: Chap. 262, sec. 2. For Second Assistant, see Laws of 1855, chap. 538, sec 1; and chap. 539, sec. 1; for Third Assistant, see Laws of 1858, chap. 333, sec. 1.

§ 4. The State Library shall be kept open every day in the year, Sundays excepted, during such hours in each day as the trustees of the said library may direct. Laws of 1844: Chap. 255, sec. 5.

§ 5. The librarian shall be constant in his personal attendance upon the library during the hours it shall be directed to be kept open, and shall perform such other duties as may be imposed by law or by the rules and regulations which may be prescribed by the said trustees. Same chapter, sec. 6.

§ 6. The acting trustees will from time to time give directions to the librarian in relation to the proper and safe keeping of the books, maps, charts, and other property belonging to the said library; and may, by way of amercement for every violation or neglect of duty, suspend or deduct from his salary or emolument any part thereof, not exceeding half of it in any one year. Laws of 1840: Chap. 381, sec. 3. § 7. The trustees of the State Library may from time to time sell or exchange duplicate or imperfect books belonging to the library, not necessary for the use thereof. Laws of 1845: Chap. 85, sec. 3.

• The sections are, for convenience, numbered without reference to their original numbers.

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LAWS AND REGULATIONS

§ 8. It shall be the duty of the trustees of the State Library annually to report to the legislature the manner in which the moneys by them received during the year preceding have been expended; together with a true and perfect catalogue of all the books, maps and charts which have been added to the library since the date of the last preceding annual report; and whether any, and, if so, what books, maps and charts have been lost; and, also, at the end of every five years, to report in like manner a full and perfect catalogue of all the books, maps and charts then remaining in the library. Laws of 1844: Chap. 255, sec. 7.

§ 9. It shall be the duty of the trustees to provide, in their regulations, that any member of the senate or assembly, during the session of the legislature, or during the sitting of the court for the correction of errors*, or of the senate only, shall be permitted, under proper restrictions, forfeitures and penalties, to take to his boarding-house or private room any book belonging to the library, except such books as the trustees shall determine are necessary always to be kept in the library as books of reference; but no member of the legislature shall be permitted to take or detain from the library more than two volumes at at any one time. R. S. Part 1, chapter 8, title 8, sec. 6.

§ 10. Before the President of the senate, or the Speaker of the assembly, shall grant to any member a certificate of the time of his attendance, he shall be satisfied that such member has returned all books taken out of the library by him, and has settled all accounts for fines for injuring such books or otherwise. Same title, sec. 7.

§ 11. It shall also be the duty of the trustees to provide in their regulations that no book, map, or other publication shall be at any time taken out of the library by any other person than a member of the legislature, for any purpose whatever. Same title, sec 8.

§ 12. The heads of the several departments, and the trustees of the State Library, shall have the same right to take books from the library, as is now enjoyed by members of the legislature. Laws of 1845: Chap. 85, sec. 1.

§ 13. The judges of the court of appeals, and the justices of the supreme court, shall be allowed to take books from the library under the same regulations as the members of the legislature. Laws of 1848: Chap. 262, sec. 3.

Concurrent Resolution of the Senate and Assembly, April 9, 1856.

(Laws of 1856, p. 364.)

Resolved, That the Trustees of the State Library be authorized and required to close the said library for the period of fifteen days in each year, to wit, from the fifth to the twentieth day of August, for the purpose of cleaning and dusting the books of the said library, and for making such internal arrangements as the trustees may think proper.

II. RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE LIBRARY, PRESCRIBED BY THE TRUSTEES.

1. The Library shall be open to the public daily as required by law (Sundays and fifteen days from the fifth to the twentieth of August excepted), from the hour of nine in the morning till five in the afternoon; and during the sessions of the Legislature, till six in the afternoon, except on Saturdays, when it will be closed at five. While the Court of Appeals, or any general term of the Supreme Court, is in session at the Capitol during the recess of the Legislature, the Law Library will be open till eight o'clock in the afternoon, except on Saturdays as aforesaid.

• This Court was abolished under the State Constitution of 1846.

2. It shall be the duty of the Librarian and the Assistant Librarians, carefully to preserve the books, maps, charts, engravings, manuscripts, medals, furniture, and other property belonging to the Library. They will be severally held accountable for the full value of every article missing from their respective departments, and for every injury except from ordinary use, unless it can be shown that some other person is responsible for such loss or injury: the amount of such loss or injury to be deducted from the salary of such officer, pursuant to section 3 of chapter 381 of the Laws of 1840.

3. Whenever the Library is open, the Librarian and Assistant Librarians shall be, in attendance: they shall preserve order, and exclude, if necessary, any disorderly person: they shall prevent smoking, loud talking, and all noise inappropriate to the quietness of a place of study.

4. Any person who wishes to obtain any book for perusal in the General Library, will be furnished at the desk of the Librarian in attendance, with a card, on which he will inscribe from the Catalogue the title of the book desired, and his own name. The book thus received must not be taken from the library hall: on returning it to the Librarian's desk, the card will be given up; otherwise the party will remain responsible for the book. The Librarians will exercise a proper discrimination as to the delivery of such books as they may judge liable to be injured. Manuscripts, rare and valuable books and plates are excluded from this rule: they will be shown only on special application to the Librarian in charge, and under such regulations as the circumstances of each case may, in his judgment, require.

5. In compliance with the provisions of the statute above set forth, any member of the Senate or Assembly, during the session of the legislature or of the Senate only, is permitted, under the restrictions, forfeitures and penalties hereinafter mentioned, to take to his boarding-house or private room any book belonging to the Library, except such as are herein determined to be necessary always to be kept in the library as books of reference. The Judges of the Court of appeals, the Justices of the supreme court, the Heads of the several departments, and the Trustees of the Library, have, by statute, the same right to take books from the Library, and under the same regulations as the members of the Legislature. No book, map, manuscript, or other article belonging to the Library, shall be at any time taken out of the library by any other person, for any purpose whatever. The restrictions and terms above referred to are contained in the next three rules.

6. No book can be taken from the Library, until its title, and the name of the person taking it, have been registered by the Librarian. A card must also be given for it, in the manner required by the fourth rule.

7. No person can take or detain from the Library more than two volumes at any one time, or for a longer period than two weeks.

8. If, on reasonable notice from the Librarian or either of the Assistant Librarians that the time for which any book or books taken or detained has expired, any person shall omit to return to the Library any such book or books for more than three days after such notice shall have been given; or if any book, map, chart, engraving, medal, or other article belonging to the Library be lost or destroyed, or so far injured as to be equivalent, in the judgment of the Librarian or Assistant Librarian in charge, to a total loss for the purposes of the Library; the person by whom such loss, destruction or injury has been occasioned, or who shall fail to make such return, shall be charged the full value of the book or article so lost, destroyed, injured or not returned; and in case of the loss of a book, or its not being returned, if it belong to a set of two or more volumes, he shall be charged the value of the whole set, or as much as it may cost to perfect it, at the election of the Library Committee. For any injury not amounting to destruction to any book, map, chart, engraving, medal or other article as aforesaid, the person causing the same shall pay a sum sufficient to compensate for such injury. This rule shall be of general application.

9. The Trustees hereby declare, agreeably to the provisions of the Revised Statutes, that the following books are always to be kept in the Library as books of reference, to wit: All the books in the Law Library; and, in the General Library, all dictionaries, encyclopædias, registers, directories, newspapers, maps and engravings, and books which are valuable for their rarity or antiquity.

10. Books of reference referred to in the preceding article, cannot be taken from the Library; except that during the sessions of the Legislature or of the Courts, any member thereof may take to any room in the Capitol any such book, on leaving a card for the same as required by the fourth rule, after being duly registered. The book must be returned on the same day on which it is taken.

11. No books belonging to the Law Library can be taken to the General Library for perusal; nor are books, maps, engravings, or any other article. belonging to the General Library, to be taken to the Law Library for perusal or examination.

12. For the better preservation from injury of the more costly collections of engravings, and the rare works and maps belonging to the Library, neither the Librarian nor the Assistant Librarians shall exhibit them to any person other than those authorized to take books from the Library, except on a written request from a member of the Joint Library Committee of the Senate and Assembly, the Speaker of the Assembly, or one of the Trustees of the Library or the Secretary.

13. Three days before the day fixed for the adjournment of any session of the Legislature, or of the Senate only, the Librarian shall address a note to each member of the Legislature or of the Senate, as the case may be, having any book belonging to the Library, requesting the return thereof within twentyfour hours.

14. After the expiration of the said twenty-four hours, the Librarian shall immediately make out a list of the members of each house who have omitted to return any books belonging to the Library, specifying the volumes retained by each; and a list of those against whom any charges for any injury to or loss of books exist, stating the amount of them; which list shall be alphabetically arranged according to the names of the respective members, and shall be certified to be correct. To the President of the Senate, the Librarian shall forthwith deliver the list relating to that body; and the list containing the names of the members of the Assembly, he shall forthwith deliver to the Speaker; and upon each list shall be written a copy of the section of the Revised Statutes in regard to this matter above set forth.

15. Twenty days before the opening of any annual session of the Legislature, the Librarian shall report in writing to the Trustees the title of every book, map, chart, print, engraving, or other article missing from the Library since the catalogue of the previous year was made out, or, if no such catalogue has been made, then since the date of the said Librarian's last annual report to the trustees; together with the name or names of the persons who appear, from the entries of the Librarian, to have borrowed or detained the same, to the end that such list may be submitted to the Legislature by the Trustees.

16. All penalties imposed under any of these rules may be remitted by the Library Committee, either wholly, or on such terms as they may deem proper.