N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, § 90.17 – Grants to reference and research library resources systems for a hospital library service program.

(1) Hospital library shall mean a library in any hospital licensed by the New York State Department of Health which serves the professional information needs of professional and related staff. A hospital shall mean any not-for-profit hospital licensed by the New York State Department of Health, under article 28 of the Public Health Law, except:
1. (i) a facility against whose certificate action has been taken pursuant to Public Health Law, section 2806;
2. (ii) a diagnostic and/or treatment center, a nursing home, or a home health agency; or
3. (iii) a psychiatric hospital, even though housed within a hospital as defined under section 2801 of the Public Health Law.
(2) A rural area shall mean a county with a population density of 1,500 or less per square mile, exclusive of that portion of such county which is within the corporate limits of a city with a population of 25,000 or more.
(3) A nonrural area shall mean an area other than a rural area as defined in paragraph (2) of this subdivision.
(4) A rural hospital shall mean a hospital which is located in a rural area.
(5) A nonrural hospital shall mean a hospital located in a nonrural area.
(6) A hospital library shall mean a library in a hospital which serves the professional information needs of professional and related staff.
(7) A library serving a hospital shall mean:
1. (i) a library which has a health science collection of at least 1,500 monographic and 175 serial titles, offers a full range of medical information services, including access to computerized medical data bases, and provides services to a hospital pursuant to a contract; or
2. (ii) if, within a reference and research library resources region, a library meeting the requirements of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph does not exist or is unwilling to serve, a library with a health sciences collection of at least 1,000 monographs and 125 serial titles and offering a full range of medical information services, including access to computerized medical data bases, provided that such library has been approved by the Education Department, upon the recommendation of the director of the reference and research library resources system, to serve a hospital pursuant to a contract.
  (b) Eligibility criteria.
  In order to be eligible for State aid for services to member hospital libraries pursuant to paragraph c subdivision 4 of section 273 of the Education Law, a reference and research library resources system shall:
(1) be operating under a plan of service which was approved pursuant to former subparagraph (4) of paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 272 of the Education Law;
(2) submit, as an amendment to its plan of service, subject to approval by the commissioner, a five-year plan detailing services to member hospital libraries and to libraries serving hospitals, and showing how services to hospitals will be developed and implemented in the reference and research library resources system area; and
(3) amend such plan every five years, and submit such amended plan to the commissioner for approval at least one month prior to the expiration date of the plan.
(c) Five-year plan.
The plan shall include, but need not be limited to, the following elements:
(1) identification of all hospitals and hospital libraries within the system area, with an indication of which hospital libraries meet hospital library standards as set forth in subdivision (g) of this section and which do not;
(2) description of resources and needs of such hospitals and hospital libraries for library materials and information services;
(3) description of the services proposed to meet identified needs and to assist hospital libraries to meet the hospital library standards adopted by the Board of Regents, including a description of any direct services, contract services, or grants;
(4) identification of the libraries capable of providing information services to hospitals;
(5) description of services to member hospital libraries and to libraries serving hospitals;
(6) description of methods to be used to involve hospitals in regional and statewide resource sharing networks;
(7) description of coordination with services provided under the Regional Medical Library Program (42 U.S.C. sections 280 a-1, 280 b [b][5], 280 b-8), including services provided pursuant to Education Law, section 273(4)(b);
(8) description of the method for providing hospitals which lack a library or a librarian with library services and materials to meet the professional information needs of all hospital staff by a professional librarian from a library serving a hospital, as defined in paragraph (a)(7) of this section.
(d) Application and reports.
Each reference and research library resources system which has received approval of its five-year plan shall submit to the department in a form and on a date prescribed by the department, an annual application and program description for services to hospitals in the region, including budget information for the year. A narrative and budget report on the program of the prior year shall be due within 60 days of the end of the year.
(e) Planning consultation.
In preparing both the five-year plan of service and the annual application, each system shall consult with representatives from hospitals, libraries serving hospitals, consortia of health information libraries, and the designated health resource or area library or libraries of the Regional Medical Library Program (42 U.S.C. sections 280 a-1, 280 b [b][5] and 280 b-8). both the five-year plan of service and the annual application shall describe the process by which such consultation has taken place.
(f) Grants.
(1) The amount of State aid apportioned annually to each reference and research library resources system shall be determined by the commissioner within available appropriations, following review and approval of the annual applications, taking into account the number and size of hospitals to be served and the service to be provided.
(2) From the amount received annually by each system, the system may provide direct services to a hospital library, make grants to hospitals to assist those hospitals to meet or maintain the hospital library standards set forth in subdivision (g) of this section, provide support to a library serving a hospital, and plan for extension of services to hospitals not participating in the regional resource sharing network.
(3) In order to be eligible for a grant from a reference and research library resources system:
1. (i) A hospital shall submit a plan to the system describing the proposed use of the funds. The system shall review such plan and shall recommend to the department for approval, at the time the annual application and program description for services to hospitals is submitted, those plans which the system determines conform to the plan of service of the reference and research library resources system.
2. (ii) A library serving a hospital shall file a plan describing the services proposed to be rendered to hospitals. The system shall review such plan and shall recommend to the department for approval, at the time the annual application and program description for services to hospitals is submitted, those plans which the system determines conform to the plan of service of the reference and research library resources system.
  (g) Hospital library standards.
(1) Collection. A hospital library shall have an up-to-date, authoritative collection of health-related informational materials appropriate to the needs of users, which shall be cataloged, labeled, and arranged to increase availability.
(2) Staff. A hospital library shall be under the direction of a full-time medical librarian and shall have adequate support staff to provide the library services necessary to support the clinical functions and other programs of the hospital, except that a hospital with less than 300 beds may operate under the direction of a full- or part-time medical librarian or under the direction of an employee trained in library skills and supervised by a medical librarian who is available through a contractual agreement.
(3) Services. A hospital library shall provide:
1. (i) onsite access to ready-reference information;
2. (ii) interlibrary loan of books, journal articles and audio-visual materials;
3. (iii) timely document delivery for information needs relating to direct patient care;
4. (iv) access to photocopying facilities;
5. (v) orientation to library services and resources;
6. (vi) instruction in the use of reference tools; and
7. (vii) access to bibliographies of print and nonprint materials and literature searches through the use of indexes and computer data bases.
(4) Participation in cooperative arrangements. A hospital library shall participate in cooperative activities and local consortia for such purposes as resource sharing, interlibrary loan, union listing and cooperative acquisitions, and shall be a member of a reference and research library resources system.

(a) Definitions.