Appendix E : Section 2 : 

The Board of Library Commissioners is firmly committed to the necessity for each community to have municipally funded public library service. It is also committed to the necessity for each student to have access to a school library fully integrated into the instructional program of the school and staffed by a certified library media specialist.

The Board recognizes the fundamentally differing missions of public libraries and school libraries and endorses the Massachusetts School Library Media Association (MSLMA)/ Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) Joint Statement on School/Public Library Services to Children: A Common Purpose with Similarities and Differences and MLA/MSLMA Joint Statement on Collection Development in Schools and Public Libraries.

The Board of Library Commissioners supports and encourages communication, cooperation, coordination and collaboration between the public libraries in a community and the school library or libraries within a community in order to provide the best possible library service to every resident and to make most effective use of public and private funds dedicated to library services.

The goals of this cooperation are stated in the Vision of Ideal Cooperation Between Public Libraries and School Libraries and realized through the Nine Recommended Cooperative Activities to Achieve Cooperation between Public Libraries and School Libraries.

The Board provides direct support for cooperation between public libraries and school libraries at the community level through:

The Board recognizes that close cooperation between public libraries and school libraries is essential to providing each community with the best possible library services. The Board also recognizes that cooperation cannot and should not serve as a substitute for adequate public library or school library service.

Vision of Ideal Cooperation between Public and School Libraries

Nine Recommended Activities to Achieve Cooperation Between Public Libraries and School Libraries

The Strategic Plan and Public Library and School Library Cooperation

In July, 1993, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners adopted the Strategic Plan for the Future of Library Services in Massachusetts, which outlined a vision of a statewide network linking libraries of all types and providing enhanced services to all library users. In July, 1997, the Board was authorized by the Massachusetts General Court to establish six regional library systems open to participation by all academic, public, school and special libraries in the Commonwealth.

As members of a Regional Library System, school libraries are eligible to receive a variety of regional and statewide services at no cost, which significantly strengthen the quality of services provided by each school library. These services include:

While these regional and statewide programs will significantly expand the school library's services, they cannot take the place of an adequate school library. In order to participate as a member of a Regional Library System, each school library must meet minimum eligibility requirements. These include a library media specialist meeting Massachusetts Department of Education certification requirements and a municipally funded library materials budget.

In 1992, a national survey showed Massachusetts nearly last in national indicators of school library funding and staffing. Working closely with the Massachusetts School Library Media Association, the Board of Library Commissioners adopted requirements for school library participation in the Regional Library Systems that were designed to help prevent and/or reverse the further deterioration of school library services in Massachusetts.

Eligibility requirements are designed to guarantee that any school district receiving the benefits of participation in state supported resource sharing programs is meeting its basic responsibility to provide access to adequate school library services. For a school district meeting its local responsibility, participation in a regional library system will allow school libraries to significantly expand the delivery of information and materials to students, teachers and administrators.

While there is no charge for membership, Regional Library System members agree to the general principle of reciprocity. In order to access regional and statewide information services, appropriate technology such as a telephone, computers and a fax machine will be needed locally. Participation in more advanced resource sharing such as shared online catalogs, electronic interlibrary loan or union lists is voluntary, and while these services will be subsidized by the state and region, some local financial commitment may be required, including the willingness to lend materials to other libraries.

Membership in a Regional Library System will directly support a number of activities recommended in the Nine Recommended Activities to Achieve Cooperation Between Public Libraries and School Libraries within a municipality. These cooperative activities include:

Library Services and Technology Act and Cooperation Between Public Libraries and School Libraries

A major change brought about by the new federal legislation is that school libraries, and indeed all types of libraries, can now benefit more directly from the program.

In compliance with federal requirements, the Board of Library Commissioners prepared and adopted a five-year plan, the Massachusetts Long-Range Plan, 1998-2002, which details specific goals and objectives supporting the agency's mission: to provide every resident of Massachusetts with equal opportunity to access information resources. The Plan outlines a program that allows for statewide projects, publications, institutes and direct grants (mini-grants, innovative grants and targeted grants) to carry out the goals and objectives.

The general policies of the Plan place a strong emphasis on cooperative and collaborative efforts that involve libraries of different types. In addition, they require that the library have a long-range plan and be a member of a regional library system as conditions of eligibility for participating in any direct grant program. While all public libraries are currently members of regional systems and many of them have completed long-range plans, the same is not true of school libraries. In order to assist schools in meeting the planning requirement, the Board of Library Commissioners, together with regional library systems, will support continuing education programs on long-range planning during the first three years of the Plan. Upon completion of plans that contain the required components, school libraries will be able to apply for targeted grant programs that are to be developed and offered during the fourth and fifth years of the Massachusetts Long-Range Plan.

Goal Four of the Plan is of particular interest to school and public libraries: "Affirm the importance of the role of libraries in children's learning and their success in life." Objective Two under that goal further states: "Encourage public and school libraries to work cooperatively and individually to develop programs and services that advance children's information literacy, teach library research skills, and stimulate a love of reading." It is here that school and public librarians have an opportunity to share their expertise and join forces to carry out this objective.

As regards the direct grant programs, both school and public libraries need to understand that the following policies apply:

School libraries that have joined an automated library resource sharing network will also benefit from LSTA funding since networks have been and will continue to be substantially supported by federal funds for purchase and upgrade of central site hardware and software.

Educational Reform Act and Public Library and School Library Cooperation

The Massachusetts Educational Reform Act was signed into law on June 18, 1993. This Act provided for a significant increase in state spending for education and modified the distribution of state education funds to increase state funding for the Commonwealth's poorer districts. As part of the new funding formula, municipalities were required to meet new matching standards for local support.

The financial effects of Education Reform have varied from community to community. In poorer communities, significant increases in state funding have provided increased funding for school district services. In other communities, increased matching requirements or reductions in state aid to school districts have resulted in increased pressure on municipal budgets. In some of these latter instances, the impact of educational reform has been to heighten the competition for resources.

For many years, municipalities have been permitted to show certain expenditures for public library services provided to students as part of their matching requirement for receipt of school aid. Prior to the implementation of Educational Reform, Department of Education (DOE) data showed that approximately 30 municipalities reported such arrangements between the district and public library. Under these arrangements the public library for the most part provided library services to elementary school children who were not served by any school library (this was specifically governed by a formula in DOE regulations). These include several arrangements for purchase of curriculum related materials by the public library, special after school programs or programs and materials provided in schools by public library staff.

Under the new Educational Reform Law, any public library services used as part of the local matching requirement must be included in a written agreement between the public library board of trustees and the school committee. In 1997, 11 such agreements were reported by public libraries in their applications for 1998 State Aid to Public Libraries.

In some instances, an arrangement between the school committee and public library trustees may provide special services for students which the school library cannot provide. Such an arrangement should never serve as a substitute for or as an alternative to adequate school library services. In all instances, any agreement under the Educational Reform Act must be based on a coordinated plan developed with involvement on the part of public and school librarians.

Joint Public Library and School Library Administration and Facilities

Each year, one or more municipalities explore the possibility of a joint public library and school library facility or of joint administration of school and public libraries. These discussions may be initiated by a variety of circumstances, ranging from plans for the construction of a new public library (which might host the library for a nearby school) to plans for construction of a new school building (which might house the public library or a library branch) to a fiscal crisis or budgetary shortfall (where any proposal that offers the possibility of cost savings will receive consideration).

In Massachusetts, three types of arrangements exist that are commonly described as "joint libraries." These three arrangements are:

These arrangements are distinguished from administration by a public library of school libraries located in separate school buildings. In Massachusetts, such an arrangement would require a legal agreement between the public library trustees and the school committee under the provisions of the Educational Reform Act. At the present time, there are two examples of such an administrative arrangement in Massachusetts: Norfolk and East Bridgewater.

In evaluating the merits of any such proposal, the following considerations are essential:

Any proposal for a joint facility or a change in administrative structure must be able to clearly demonstrate that it will result in improved services for students and for the general public. Joint facility arrangements should never serve as a substitute for or as an alternative to adequate public library or school library service.