On 08/07/2000 (9:35:34 AM EDT), Wayne Miller ([log in to unmask])
supplemented by prior eMail on the subject of special taxing districts with
some additional information about the several types of library governance
allowed in New York State.

The four mentioned were: association, municipal, public, and school district.
 I would add that there are undistricted areas that are not in any type of
library district and pay no library tax (as well as areas that are in
over-lapping library districts and hence pay two library taxes).

It was further mentioned that the state no longer grants charters to
association libraries and that it prefers all libraries to become
school-district libraries.

On the issue of association libraries, as far as I was informed they are the
most popular form of library organization in New York State and it will be
quite hard to convert them into school district libraries, even though in
many cases the association's current border is the same as the school
district.

When the City of New York expanded in 1898 to include, Richmond County, the
City of Brooklyn and the western-third of Queens County, all municipal
services were automatically combined into a city agency, except for the
libraries.  To this day, New York City has 3 separate libraries: New York,
Brooklyn and Queens Borough, each with its own director, board of trustees,
etc., etc.

School districts have mixed feelings over school district libraries.  The
operating budget for the library is the responsibility of the library
district's board of trustees and it faces a separate public vote from the
school district budget.  However, because under current state law the school
district owns the capital assets of the library district, should the library
district wish to build or expand its existing building, this cost goes on the
school district budget, not on the library district budget.


Regards,

Walter Greenspan