                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

THE LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA (§ 42.1-1)

The Library of Virginia is hereby declared an educational institution and an
institution of learning. The Library of Virginia shall be the library agency of
the Commonwealth, the archival agency of the Commonwealth, and the reference
library at the seat of government. It shall have the following powers and
duties:

1. [Repealed.]

2. To accept gifts, bequests and endowments for the purposes which fall within
the general legal powers and duties of The Library of Virginia. Unless otherwise
specified by the donor or legator, the Library may either expend both the
principal and interest of any gift or bequest or may invest such sums as the
Board deems advisable, with the consent of the State Treasurer, in securities in
which sinking funds may be invested. The Library shall be deemed to be an
institution of higher education within the meaning of &#xA7; 23.1-101;

3. To purchase and maintain a general collection of books, periodicals,
newspapers, maps, films, audiovisual materials and other materials for the use
of the people of the Commonwealth as a means for the promotion of knowledge
within the Commonwealth. The scope of the Library&#8217;s collections shall be
determined by the Library Board on recommendation of the Librarian of Virginia,
and, in making these decisions, the Board and Librarian of Virginia shall take
into account the book collections of public libraries and libraries at
institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth and the availability of
such collections to the general public. The Board shall make available for
circulation to libraries or to the public such of its materials as it deems
advisable;

4. To give assistance, advice and counsel to other agencies of the Commonwealth
maintaining libraries and special reference collections as to the best means of
establishing and administering such libraries and collections. It may establish
in The Library of Virginia a union catalogue of all books, pamphlets and other
materials owned and used for reference purposes by all other agencies of the
Commonwealth and of all books, pamphlets and other materials maintained by
libraries in the Commonwealth which are of interest to the people of the whole
Commonwealth;

5. To fix reasonable penalties for damage to or failure to return any book,
periodical or other material owned by the Library, or for violation of any rule
or regulation concerning the use of books, periodicals, and other materials in
custody of the Library;

6. To give direction, assistance and counsel to all libraries in the
Commonwealth, to all communities which may propose to establish libraries, and
to all persons interested in public libraries, as to means of establishment and
administration of such libraries, selection of books, retrieval systems,
cataloguing, maintenance, and other details of library management, and to
conduct such inspections as are necessary;

7. To engage in such activities in aid of city, county, town, regional and other
public libraries as will serve to develop the library system of the
Commonwealth;

8. To administer and distribute state and federal library funds in accordance
with law and its own regulations to the city, county, town and regional
libraries of the Commonwealth; and

9. To enter into contracts with other states or regions or districts for the
purpose of providing cooperative library services.
			Wherever in this title and the Code of Virginia the terms &#8220;State
Library&#8221; or &#8220;Library&#8221; appear, they shall mean The Library of
Virginia.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 42-33; 1970, c. 606; 1984, cc. 389, 734; 1986, c. 565;
1987, c. 458; 1994, c. 64; 1998, c. 427.