Public Library System Charts and Funding Factors
This PLS Charts workbook contains seven worksheets showing annual funding appropriations included in Education Law §273 and Education Law §285. The worksheets also include key factors used in the funding formulas, such as population, counties served, and square mileage. The workbook contains seven sheets outlined below, followed by factors that impact the types of appropriation. Appropriation columns are color-coded for easy identification.
- Public Library System Totals, located on the PLS Totals worksheet, contains all the aid appropriations in one sheet excluding the Local Library Services Aid (LLSA) pass through. The worksheet includes data in columns A-L
- Basic, Supplemental, Coordinated Outreach, Central Library Services Aid, and Special Grants, located on the Basic through Special Grants worksheet, includes aid appropriations that go directly to public library systems. This does not include LLSA funds that are redistributed to member libraries.
- Inter-institutional Aid (County Jails) & Correctional Facilities Aid, located on the Jails & Correctional Facilities worksheet, includes relevant population data along with the appropriations for the Inter-Institutional and Correctional Facilities Aid.
- Local Services Support Aid (LSSA), located on the LSSA (System Aid) worksheet, includes data related to the population of unserved areas along with the appropriation for LSSA. It also includes a "note" field with information related to changes in unserved populations from the previous year.
- Local Consolidated Systems Aid (LCSA), located on the LCSA worksheet, is a smaller data set with only three systems. The sheet includes data related to the system’s population, 2001 Local Consolidated Aid and the current LCSA appropriation.
- New York Public Library (NYPL) Aid, located on the NYPL Special Aid worksheet, includes five programs that are part of the NYPL along with the appropriation for each program.
- Local Library Services Aid (LLSA), located on the LLSA (Member Aid) worksheet, includes the system for each of its member libraries listed. The sheet also includes the population served for the member library, the 2001-2002 LLSA and aid appropriation.
Funding Formula Factors Outlined in Education Law
Basic Aid Appropriation
Formula factors include the number of counties the library system serves, including partial counties, the population, and geographic size of the chartered system area.
Supplemental Operation Aid
Outlined in Education Law 273(11)(a), each system receives $39,000 and an additional amount that’s equal to 10.94% of the amount of their statutory Basic Aid amount.
Local Library Services Aid (LLSA)
LLSA is distributed through systems to system member libraries. As written in Education Law 273(1)(f)(2), the formula factors include 31 cents per capita with a minimum of $1,500 per library with no library receiving less than the amount of LLSA they received in 2001.
Local Services Support Aid (LSSA)
LSSA is appropriated to systems outside of New York City as outlined in Education Law 273(1)(f)(2). The formula factors include 31 cents per capita of populations who are unserved by a chartered library in addition to two-thirds of the amount appropriated to the system’s member libraries through LLSA.
Local Consolidated Systems Aid (LCSA)
LCSA applies to systems in cities with a population of one million or more inhabitants. It includes Brooklyn Public, New York Public, and Queens Library. Based on Education Law 273(1)(f)(3), the aid appropriation is equal to the sum of 31 cents per capita of the population served by the system but no less than the amount of Local Library Incentive Aid (LLIA) received in 1991. Also, an additional amount that’s equal to two-thirds of the total dollar amount calculated based on the formula of 31 cents per capita of the population served by the system.
Coordinated Outreach
Education Law 273(1)(h)(1) appropriates $43,000 annually and an additional 31 cents per capita for the services area population, to systems that provide Coordinated Outreach Services outlined in regulations of the Commissioner of Education. Education Law and 273(1)(h)(2) appropriates an additional $46,333 for those systems with populations at two-million or higher, $23,000 to those with populations from four-hundred thousand to under two-million and $14,000 to those with populations below four-hundred thousand.
Central Library Services Aid
Education Law 273(1)(b) appropriates 32 cents per capita of the population of the chartered service area of the system with a minimum amount of $105,000. Each system receives an additional $71,500.
Special Grants
Education Law 273(1)(k), 273(1)(l) and 273(1)(m) appropriate funds to Brooklyn Public Library for its business library and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library and the Nassau library system for their continuity of service projects approved by the Commissioner.
State Corrections Aid
Public Library Systems operating under an approved plan of service that includes one or more state correctional facilities are awarded $9.25 per capita for the population of incarcerated individuals within the service area based on Education Law 285(1). The Commissioner is authorized to spend $175,000 on additional grants to public library systems.
Inter-Institutional (County Jails) Aid
Education Law 285(2) authorizes the Commissioner to spend $175,000 on additional grants to public library systems. Each system is granted an amount based on the ratio of incarcerated individuals in county jails within the library system to the total number within the state.
New York Public Library Aid
Education Law 273(1)(g) appropriates an additional amount of funds of $6,400,000 for support of its research libraries, $2,000,000 for support of library services provided to the students of the City University of New York, and an additional $1,000,000 for the support of the library's science, industry, and business library. $734,000 is also appropriated in Education Law 273(1)(i) for the program of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and $984,000 is appropriated for the program of the library for the blind and physically handicapped.