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State Library Responsibilities

Overview

Colorado Library Law (C.R.S. 24-90-100+) provides a legal framework for library operations and responsibilities including the role of the Colorado State Library. This page provides a rough, non-legal summary of the statute language. View the complete Colorado Library Law.


Part 1

The Colorado State Library shall:

  1. Make reasonable rules and regulations for the administration of the provisions of the law
  2. Provide library or information services to state officials and departments.
  3. Provide library service to institutional libraries.
  4. Make reasonable rules for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of institutional libraries.
  5. Provide library services to persons who are blind and physically disabled, and who cannot use printed materials.
  6. Provide resources to ensure equal access to information for all Coloradans.
  7. Coordinate programs and activities of the regional library service systems (CLiC).
  8. Provide for the collection, analysis, publication, and distribution of statistics and information relevant to the state library and to public, school, academic, and institutional libraries.
  9. Conduct research projects necessary to plan and evaluate the effectiveness of library programs in the state.
  10. Contract for the lending of books and other resources to publicly-supported libraries and institutions, including, without limitation, the Colorado resource center at the Denver public library and any other resource centers as may be designated;
  11. Report to the state board of education at such times and on such matters as the board may require.
  12. Accept gifts and bequests of money or property.
  13. [Promote] library development; any and all things that may reasonably be expected to promote and advance library services;
    • provide consultative and information to all types of publicly-supported libraries
    • field visits,
    • conferences,
    • institutes,
    • correspondence,
    • statistical information,
    • publications, and electronic media; and to do
  14. Develop and promulgate service standards for school, public, and institutional libraries that guide the development and improvement of such libraries.
  15. Encourage contractual and cooperative relations to enhance resource sharing among all types of libraries and agencies throughout the state.
  16. Serve as the agency of the state to receive and administer state or federal funds.
  17. Develop regulations under which state grants are distributed.
  18. Cooperate with local legislative bodies, library boards, library advisory committees, professional associations, and other groups in the development and improvement of libraries throughout the state.
  19. Carry out the functions and responsibilities of the Colorado virtual library.
  20. The general assembly declares that there shall be developed and established by the Colorado state library, in cooperation with the research libraries within Colorado, an automated catalog system, which shall be available for use by all publicly or privately supported libraries in Colorado. The system shall be compatible with the library of congress automated cataloging system, including federal standards for machine-readable cataloging, which will become effective on January 1, 1981.

Part 2

State publications depository and distribution center. Ensure that all state publications are available to residents of Colorado through a system of depository libraries. Operation of the center is declared to be an essential administrative function of the state government.


Part 3

Colorado virtual library. Provide electronic resources through libraries to all Colorado residents, to the students, faculty, and staff of institutions of higher education, and to the students and faculty of elementary and secondary schools. Components:

  1. A connection to the on-line catalogs of the holdings of Colorado libraries;
  2. A connection to locally produced databases;
  3. Digitized collections of Colorado resources;
  4. Indexes and full text database products selected in accordance with subsection (3.5) of this section to serve the needs of the people of the state;
  5. An interlibrary loan system facilitating resource sharing throughout Colorado; and
  6. Other services associated with providing computer-based library services.

Subject to appropriations, the state librarian shall procure on-line databases necessary to provide on behalf of all publicly-supported libraries the indexes and database products.


Part 4

Make grant moneys available to public, school, and academic libraries.


Part 5

Library district capital facilities


Part 6

Library filtering