Sec. 11-21a. Adoption of certain library policies.
Sec. 11-24b. State grants to principal public libraries; incentive grants.
Sec. 11-21a. Adoption of certain library policies. (a) As used in this section:
(1) “Library and other educational material” means any material belonging to, on loan to or otherwise in the custody of a public library, including, but not limited to, nonfiction and fiction books, magazines, reference books, supplementary titles, multimedia and digital material and software.
(2) “Public library staff member” means a staff member of a public library, a public librarian, any staff member whose assignment is in the public library or any individual carrying out or assisting with the functions of a public library.
(3) “Individual with a vested interest” means any individual residing in the town in which the public library is located or the town in which the contract library is located at the time a reconsideration form is filed under subsection (e) of this section.
(4) “Remove” means deliberately taking library material out of a library's collection. “Remove” does not include the process of clearing such collection of any materials that are no longer useful.
(b) The board of trustees, or other governing body, of each public library shall adopt a (1) collection development and maintenance policy, (2) library display and program policy, and (3) library material review and reconsideration policy. Each such policy shall ensure that all library materials are evaluated and made accessible in accordance with the protections against discrimination set forth in section 46a-64, including, but not limited to, discrimination based on race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability. In developing each such policy, the board shall have control over the content of each such policy, provided such policies are in accordance with the provisions of this section. The board of trustees or other governing body shall review, and update as necessary, each such policy every five years.
(c) The collection development and maintenance policy shall, at a minimum:
(1) Recognize that library materials should (A) be provided for the interest, information and enlightenment of all residents, and (B) represent a wide range of varied and diverging viewpoints in the collection as a whole;
(2) Recognize the importance of the public library as a place for voluntary inquiry, the dissemination of information and ideas and the promotion of free expression and free access to ideas by residents;
(3) Acknowledge that librarians are professionally trained to curate and develop a collection that provides resident with access to the widest array of library and other educational materials; and
(4) Establish a procedure for a librarian to continually review library and other educational material within a public library using professionally accepted standards, which shall include, but not be limited to, the material's relevance, the physical condition of the material, the availability of duplicates or copies of the material, the availability of more recent age-appropriate or grade-level-appropriate material and the continued demand for the material.
(d) The library display and program policy shall, at a minimum:
(1) Recognize that library displays should (A) be provided for the interest, information and enlightenment of all residents, (B) represent a wide range of varied and diverging viewpoints, and (C) provide access to content that is relevant to the research, independent interests and educational needs of residents;
(2) Recognize the importance of displays and programs as resources for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and ideas and to promote free expression and free access to ideas by residents;
(3) Acknowledge that librarians are professionally trained to curate and develop displays and programs; and
(4) Differentiate between library displays and programs that are created or curated by librarians or staff members of the public library and those displays and programs created by members of the public or community groups and exhibited in the public library.
(e) The library material review and reconsideration policy shall, at a minimum:
(1) Establish a process for individuals with a vested interest to challenge any library and other educational material, display or program;
(2) Limit consideration of requests to reconsider material, displays or programs to individuals residing in the town in which the library is located or the town in which the contract library is located;
(3) Require that no library material, display or program shall be removed, or programs be cancelled, because of the origin, background or viewpoints expressed in such material, display or program or because of the origin, background or viewpoints of the creator of such material, display or program;
(4) Require that library materials, displays and programs shall only be excluded for legitimate pedagogical purposes or for professionally accepted standards of collection maintenance practices as adopted in the collection development and maintenance policy or the display and program policy;
(5) Require that any process for petitioners to challenge any library material, display or program shall neither favor nor disfavor any group based on protected characteristics;
(6) Provide for the creation of a request for reconsideration form that may be submitted by an individual to the library director to initiate a review of such material. The form shall require such individual to specify which portion or portions of such material such individual objects to and provide an explanation of the reasons for such objection. Such individual shall not submit a request for reconsideration form without including such individual's full legal name, address and telephone number;
(7) Acknowledge that reconsideration requests are not confidential patron records under section 11-25;
(8) Require that any library material being challenged remain available in the library according to its catalog record and be available for a resident to reserve, check out or access until a final decision is made by the library director;
(9) Require the library director to evaluate the request for reconsideration form, read the challenged material in its entirety, evaluate the challenged material against the collection development and maintenance policy and make a written decision on whether or not to remove the challenged material not later than sixty days from the date of receiving such request. The library director shall provide a copy of the library director's decision and report to the individual who submitted the form;
(10) Permit the individual who submitted the request for reconsideration form to appeal, in writing, the library director's decision to the board of trustees or other governing body for the library. The board, after evaluating the challenged material under the collection development and maintenance policy, shall (A) consult with (i) the library director, (ii) the State Librarian, or the State Librarian's designee, (iii) a representative of the cooperating library service unit, as defined in section 11-9e, (iv) the president of the Connecticut Library Association, or the president's designee, and (v) the president of the Association of Connecticut Library Boards, or the president's designee, (B) deliberate on such request for reconsideration, (C) provide a written statement of the reasons for the reconsideration or refusal to reconsider the library material, and (D) provide any final decision that is contrary to the decision of the library director;
(11) Provide that once a decision has been made by the library director or the board of trustees or other governing board on the reconsideration of any library material, such material cannot be subject to a new request for reconsideration for a period of three years;
(12) Permit a library director to consolidate any requests for reconsideration of the same challenged library material; and
(13) Prohibit the removal, exclusion or censoring of any book on the sole basis that an individual finds such book offensive.
(f) Any librarian or staff member of a public library who, in good faith, implements the policies described in this section shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed and shall have the same immunity with respect to any judicial proceeding that results from such implementation.
(g) The board of trustees, or other governing body, of each public library shall make available the (1) collection development and maintenance policy, (2) library display and program policy, and (3) library material review and reconsideration policy adopted under this section on the board's or governing body's Internet web site, or, if no such Internet web site exists, inside the library or included as part of such library's policy manual.
(P.A. 25-168, S. 322.)
History: P.A. 25-168 effective June 30, 2025.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 11-24b. State grants to principal public libraries; incentive grants. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (i) of this section, each principal public library, as defined in section 11-24a, shall be eligible to receive a state grant in accordance with the provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section provided the following requirements are met:
(1) An annual statistical report which includes certification that the grant, when received, shall be used for library purposes is filed with the State Library Board in such manner as the board may require. The report shall include information concerning local library governance, hours of service, type of facilities, library policies, resources, programs and services available, measurement of levels of services provided, personnel and fiscal information concerning library receipts and expenditures;
(2) Documents certifying the legal establishment of the principal public library in accordance with the provisions of section 11-20 are filed with the board;
(3) The library is a participating library in the Connecticard program established pursuant to section 11-31b;
(4) Except for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2010, to June 30, 2015, inclusive, the principal public library shall not have had the amount of its annual tax levy or appropriation reduced to an amount which is less than the average amount levied or appropriated for the library for the three fiscal years immediately preceding the year of the grant, except that if the expenditures of the library in any one year in such three-year period are unusually high as compared with expenditures in the other two years, the library may request an exception to this requirement and the board, upon review of the expenditures for that year, may grant an exception;
(5) State grant funds shall be expended within two years of the date of receipt of such funds. If the funds are not expended in that period, the library shall submit a plan to the State Librarian for the expenditure of any unspent balance;
(6) Principal public libraries shall not charge individuals residing in the town in which the library is located or the town in which the contract library is located for borrowing and lending library materials, accessing information, advice and assistance and programs and services which promote literacy; and
(7) Principal public libraries shall provide equal access to library service for all individuals and shall not discriminate upon the basis of age, race, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, handicap or place of residency in the town in which the library is located or the town in which the contract library is located.
(b) Within the limits of amounts appropriated, the amount each principal public library shall be eligible to receive annually as a state grant shall be determined by the State Library Board as follows:
(1) Principal public libraries, as defined in section 11-24a, shall receive a base grant of one thousand two hundred dollars for each fiscal year.
(2) Of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section less the amount distributed as base grants, sixty per cent shall be set aside and paid to principal public libraries pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(3) Of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section less the amount distributed as base grants, forty per cent shall be set aside and paid to principal public libraries pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.
(c) The principal public library for each town shall be eligible to receive an equalization grant in an amount determined as follows:
(1) The adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-261, for all towns in the state shall be ranked from highest to lowest.
(2) The adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as ranked for all towns in the state from highest to lowest shall be divided into the following four classes: Class A, towns ranked from one to forty-two, inclusive; class B, towns ranked from forty-three to eighty-four, inclusive; class C, towns ranked from eighty-five to one hundred twenty-six, inclusive; and, class D, towns ranked from one hundred twenty-seven to one hundred sixty-nine, inclusive. Funds available for purposes of this subsection pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section shall be distributed among the four classes so that principal public libraries for class B, C, and D towns, respectively, shall receive two times, three times and four times as much on a per capita basis as principal public libraries for class A towns.
(3) Grants to the principal public library for each town shall be determined as follows: Said funds available for purposes of this subsection shall be multiplied by the per cent of funds for each class to determine an appropriation per class; the appropriation per class shall be divided by the total population per class to determine an amount per capita; the grant for the principal public library for each town shall be the town's total population multiplied by the amount per capita. For purposes of this subdivision, “total population” of a town means that enumerated in the most recent federal decennial census of population.
(d) The principal public library for each town shall be eligible to receive an incentive grant in an amount to be determined as follows:
(1) The State Library Board shall, in such manner as prescribed by the board, determine for each fiscal year, a state-wide average for per capita library expenditures and each town's individual per capita library expenditure based on the annual statistical report filed in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
(2) The per capita library expenditure of each town shall be ranked from highest to lowest and the ranked expenditures shall be divided into the following classes: Class A, towns which meet or exceed the state-wide average for per capita library expenditures; class B, towns which meet seventy-five to ninety-nine per cent, inclusive, of the state-wide average; class C, towns which meet fifty to seventy-four per cent, inclusive, of the state-wide average; and, class D, towns which fall below fifty per cent of the state-wide average. Funds available for purposes of this subsection pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section shall be distributed among the four classes so that principal public libraries for class A and B towns, respectively, shall receive three times and two times as much on a per capita basis as principal public libraries for class C towns.
(3) Grants to the principal public library for each town shall be determined as follows: Said funds available for purposes of this subsection shall be multiplied by the per cent of funds per class to determine an appropriation per class; the appropriation per class shall be divided by the total population per class to determine an amount per capita; the grant for the principal public library for each town shall be the town's total population multiplied by the amount per capita. For purposes of this subdivision, “total population” of a town means that enumerated in the most recent federal decennial census of population.
(e) Application for grants under this section shall be made to the State Library Board in such form and at such time as the board designates. The grant may be used for general library purposes and no portion of the grant money shall revert to the general fund of the town or towns normally served by such library.
(f) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall make available, upon the request of the State Library Board, such information as is needed by the board to determine grant payments in accordance with the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
(g) The State Library Board shall report triennially to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education on the impact of the state grants distributed pursuant to this section.
(h) The State Library Board shall, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section.
(i) No principal public library shall be eligible to receive a state grant in accordance with the provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section if such principal public library does not maintain and adhere to a collection development and maintenance policy, a library display and program policy and a library material review and reconsideration policy that have been adopted by the board of trustees or other governing body of such library pursuant to section 11-21a. Such material review and reconsideration policy shall offer residents a clear process to request a reconsideration of library materials. In the instance of a book challenge, these policies shall govern.
(1967, P.A. 590, S. 3, 4; 1969, P.A. 579, S. 1; P.A. 73-572; 73-645, S. 2; P.A. 75-316, S. 13; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 83-587, S. 88, 96; P.A. 84-398, S. 1, 2; P.A. 85-578, S. 2, 5; P.A. 92-120, S. 1, 3; P.A. 07-227, S. 10; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6, S. 52; P.A. 11-48, S. 209; 11-55, S. 11; P.A. 13-247, S. 231; P.A. 23-101, S. 2; P.A. 25-168, S. 323.)
History: 1969 act removed Subsec. indicators, substituted “1969” for “1967” as commencement year for payments, increased payments from $500 to $1,000 for public libraries and from $600 to $1,200 for principal public libraries, deleted provisions prohibiting reduction of payments in 1967 to level less than that of 1966, requiring equal division of funds between two years of biennium, and provided formula for matching funds from state based on local expenditures within limits provided; P.A. 73-572 added provision re modification of census figures by vital statistics kept by health department in determining which towns meet population requirements of Subdiv. (3); P.A. 73-645 added Subsec. (b) re grants to state-wide service libraries for services provided to nonresidents of town in which located; P.A. 75-316 substituted state library board for state library committee; P.A. 77-614 substituted department of health services for department of health, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 83-587 made a technical amendment, removing Subsec. (b) re aid for net services rendered to nonresidents; P.A. 84-398 deleted previous provisions and established a new state grant program which includes phase-out of the base grants to principal and nonprincipal public libraries, equalization grants and incentive grants; P.A. 85-578 amended Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive, to specify that grants are to be paid to “principal” public libraries rather than to public libraries or to towns and deleted provision in Subsec. (b) which had required that funds not distributed for grants to “nonprincipal public libraries” be distributed to public libraries pursuant to Subsecs. (c) and (d); P.A. 92-120 amended Subsec. (a) to add the method of computing grants on and after July 1, 1995; P.A. 07-227 required grantees to be principal public libraries, amended Subsec. (a)(6) to replace language re access to library materials without charge with language re borrowing and lending materials, accessing information and advice, assistance, programs and services to promote literacy, amended Subsec. (b)(1) to eliminate phase-out of base grant, amended Subsecs. (c)(3) and (d)(3) to provide that total population be determined based on most recent census instead of 1980 census, amended Subsec. (e) to provide that grant may be used for general library purposes and shall not revert to town's general fund and made technical changes throughout, effective July 1, 2007; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6 amended Subsec. (a)(4) to add exception applicable to fiscal years ending June 30, 2010, and June 30, 2011, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (a)(4) to extend exception through fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-55 amended Subsec. (a)(7) to prohibit discrimination on basis of gender identity or expression; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (a)(4) to extend exception through fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 23-101 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “Except as otherwise provided in subsection (i) of this section, each” and making a conforming change and added Subsec. (i) re collection development, collection management and collection reconsideration policies, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 25-168 amended Subsec. (i) by replacing “collection management and collection reconsideration policies” with “and maintenance policy, a library display and program policy and a library material review and reconsideration policy”, replacing “approved” with “adopted”, adding reference to board of trustees and section 11-21a, and replacing “collection reconsideration policy” with “material review and reconsideration policy”, effective June 30, 2025 (Revisor's note: In codifying section 323 of public act 25-168, an incorrect reference to “section 321 of this act” in Subsec. (i), which appeared in the engrossed bill, was changed editorially by the Revisors to “section 322 of this act” and therefore codified as a reference to section 11-21a).
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 11-24e. Certain terms in electronic book and digital audiobook license agreements and contracts prohibited. Effective date and notification. Permissible terms. (a) As used in this section:
(1) “Electronic literary material” means any digital audiobook or electronic book;
(2) “Digital audiobook” means a sound recording of a reading of any literary production that has been converted into or published in a digital audio file that may be listened to on a computer or portable electronic device;
(3) “Electronic book” means a text document that has been converted into or published in a digital format that may be read on a computer or portable electronic device;
(4) “Portable electronic device” means any self-contained electronic device for personal use for communicating, reading, viewing, listening, playing video games or computing, including, but not limited to, a mobile telephone, tablet computer, electronic book reader or other similar device;
(5) “Library” includes (A) any public library, public elementary school library, secondary school library, academic library, research library or public archive (i) that is funded directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, during a fiscal year by the state or a political subdivision of the state, including, but not limited to, matching expenditures, grants, loans, bonding, insurance or guarantees, and (ii) for the duration of any fiscal year in which such funding is received and the fiscal year next succeeding; and (B) the State Library;
(6) “Publisher” means any person in the business of the manufacture, promulgation, license or sale of books, audiobooks, journals, magazines, newspapers or other literary productions, including those in the form of electronic literary materials, and includes any aggregator who enters into a contract with any library for the purpose of providing materials for purchase or license from any publisher;
(7) “Aggregator” means any person in the business of licensing access to electronic literary material collections that include electronic literary material from multiple publishers;
(8) “Technological protection measure” means any technology that enhances the security of loaning or circulating electronic literary materials by a library;
(9) “Borrower” means any person or organization, including another library, to whom a library loans a copy of electronic literary material;
(10) “Loan” means the creation and transmission by a library to a borrower of a copy of any electronic literary material and the deletion of such copy by the library upon the expiration of the loan period; and
(11) “Loan period” means the period of time commencing with the creation and transmission by a library to a borrower of a copy of any electronic literary material and concluding with the deletion of such copy by the library, as determined by the library.
(b) (1) On the sixtieth day following the date the Secretary of the State, in consultation with the State Librarian, determines that a substantially similar law to the provisions of this section has been enacted in one or more states, not including this state, and the aggregate population of such state or states equals at least seven million, as enumerated in the most recent United States decennial census, the provisions of this section shall apply to any contract or license agreement entered into or renewed on and after such sixtieth day, by a library in the state with a publisher for the license of any electronic literary material. The State Librarian shall verify whether any states have enacted any such substantially similar laws not less than quarterly.
(2) Not later than thirty days after the date the secretary, in consultation with the State Librarian, makes such determination in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection, the State Librarian shall electronically notify the Commissioner of Education, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and all libraries operated by a state agency of such determination and the date the requirements of this section become effective and the Secretary of the State and State Librarian shall ensure that such determination and effective date are posted on the Internet web sites of the State Library and the office of the Secretary of the State. The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall electronically notify all municipalities of this state and the Commissioner of Education shall electronically notify all public elementary schools and secondary schools, of such determination and effective date.
(c) On and after the sixtieth day following the date of determination by the secretary, in consultation with the State Librarian, as specified in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section, no library in the state shall enter into or renew any contract or license agreement with a publisher that precludes, limits or restricts the library from performing customary operational or lending functions, including any provision that:
(1) Prohibits the library from loaning any electronic literary material, including through any interlibrary loan system;
(2) Restricts the number of times the library may loan any electronic literary material over the course of the contract or license agreement if such contract or agreement also restricts the library's loan period for electronic literary material;
(3) Limits the number of electronic literary material licenses the library may purchase on the same date such electronic literary material is made available for purchase by the public;
(4) Prohibits the library from making nonpublic preservation copies of any electronic literary material;
(5) Restricts the library from disclosing the terms of the contract or license agreement to any other library in the state;
(6) Restricts the duration of the contract or license agreement for electronic literary material unless the library also has the option of a contract or license agreement on commercially reasonable terms in consideration of the library's mission, that either (A) is based on a pay-per-use model, or (B) provides for the perpetual public use of the electronic literary material;
(7) Requires the library to violate the provisions of section 11-25;
(8) Provides that the contract or license agreement is not severable from any provision within such contract or agreement that is found in a judicial forum to be prohibited by this subsection; or
(9) Allows the enforcement of any of the provisions prohibited by this subsection other than in a judicial forum.
(d) Any library in the state may enter into a contract or license agreement with a publisher that contains:
(1) A limitation on the number of borrowers the library may allow to have simultaneous access to any electronic literary material; or
(2) A provision concerning the library's reasonable use of any technological protection measure that prevents a borrower from:
(A) Maintaining access to any electronic literary material beyond the access period specified in the contract or license agreement; and
(B) Providing other borrowers with access to any electronic literary material.
(P.A. 25-9, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 25-9 effective July 1, 2025.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |