The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986

F1PART VIIN.I.LIBRARY SERVICES

Provision of library services by boardsN.I.

73 .F2—(1) It shall be the duty of each board to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for persons living or working or undertaking courses of education in its area and a board may provide a library service for persons other than those for whom it has a duty to provide the service.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), each board shall make library services available to grant-aided schools and other grant-aided educational establishments[F3 (other than institutions of further education)] in its area.

(3) For the purpose of carrying out its functions under paragraph (1), a board shall have regard to the desirability—

(a)of securing that facilities are available for the borrowing of, or reference to,[F4 library materials] sufficient in number, range and quality to meet the general and any special requirements of adults and children and of doing so whether by keeping adequate stocks, by arrangements with other boards or with bodies other than boards concerned with library services and by any other appropriate means;

(b)of encouraging both adults and children to make full use of the library service;

(c)of providing advice as to the use of the library service and making available such bibliographical and other information as may be required by persons using the service.

(4) Each board

(a)shall make suitable arrangements for co-operating with any other board or boards for the purpose of enabling itself or the other board or boards to carry out its or their functions more effectively; and

(b)may, either alone or in conjunction with another board or other boards, make such arrangements with bodies other than boards whether inside or outside Northern Ireland as are practicable and which it considers necessary in order to enable it to carry out its functions under paragraph (1) more effectively.

Development schemesN.I.

74 .F5—(1) A development scheme for library services within the area of a board which has been approved by the Department under Article 62 of the 1972 Order shall, subject to the following provisions of this Article, continue to have effect.

(2) A library committee may at any time and shall, if the Department directs the board that the library committee should do so, prepare and submit to the board a revised development scheme for library services within the area of the board or an amendment to an existing scheme and where the board approves with or without amendment such a revised development scheme or amendment to an existing scheme, it shall submit it to the Department.

(3) A revised development scheme or an amendment to an existing scheme shall be in such form and contain such information as the Department may direct.

(4) The Department may approve with or without modification a revised development scheme or an amendment to an existing scheme submitted to it under this Article.

(5) Subject to any directions of the Department, it shall be the duty of a board to carry out the provisions of any scheme, or any amendment to a scheme, for its area which has been approved by the Department under this Article or the said Article 62.

Standards of library premisesN.I.

75 .F6  Each board shall secure that[F7 its library premises] conform to such standards as the Department may direct.

Contributions between boards in respect of library servicesN.I.

76 .F8—(1) Where a board provides library services for or on behalf of another board, that other board shall pay such a contribution, if any, to the board providing the services as may be agreed between the boards.

(2) A board shall, before providing library services for or on behalf of another board, obtain the consent of that other board.

(3) Any dispute between boards regarding a contribution to be made from one board to another shall be referred to and determined by the Department whose determination shall be final.

[F9Charges for library servicesN.I.

77 .F10—(1) Except as provided by this Article, no charge shall be made by a board for library services provided by it.

(2) A board may make a charge—

(a)subject to paragraph (3), for lending library material or library apparatus;

(b)for reserving for any person library material or library apparatus (whether that material or apparatus is for the time being held by the board or is to be obtained from elsewhere and whether for the purpose of lending the material or apparatus to that person or making it available for his use on library premises) and for notifying that person that that material or apparatus has become available or is not available for borrowing or use by him;

(c)in respect of the failure to return any borrowed library material or library apparatus before the end of the period for which it is lent;

(d)subject to paragraph (4), for making library apparatus available for use on library premises;

(e)in respect of library apparatus, library material and any other equipment or thing used in providing the library service which is lost, damaged or destroyed by, or while on loan to, any person;

(f)subject to paragraph (4), for assisting or instructing a person in the use of a computer;

(g)for researching or collating information for and at the request of a person;

(h)for supplying catalogues, indexes or similar articles where the articles become the property of the person to whom they are supplied;

(i)for supplying library material which has been researched, collated, produced or copied by the board where the material becomes the property of the person to whom it is supplied;

(j)for supplying copies of library material obtained from another library not maintained by the board or from any other body or person, where the copies become the property of the person to whom they are supplied;

(k)for providing, or procuring the provision of, library material to a person who does not wish to collect it or have it collected and for notifying a person who has requested provision other than by collection that the library material is not available;

(l)for providing a room or cubicle on library premises for the purpose of working or studying to which only the person paying the charge is for the time being permitted access;

(m)subject to paragraph (5), for making library facilities available otherwise than on library premises; and

(n)subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), for making available to any person library facilities which go beyond those ordinarily provided by the board as part of the library service.

(4) No charge shall be made under sub-paragraph (d), (f) or (n) of paragraph (2) for making facilities available for any person—

(a)to read the whole or any part of any of the written materials for the time being held by the board—

(i)in a form in which they are readable without the use of any electronic or other apparatus; or

(ii)in microform; or

(b)to consult such catalogues, indexes or similar articles as are maintained, in any form whatever, exclusively for the purposes of that board's library service,

on library premises.

(5) No charge shall be made under sub-paragraph (m) of paragraph (2) to individual users of facilities made available as mentioned in that sub-paragraph where—

(a)the facilities are made available at a school, residential home, hospital, prison, club or like institution; and

(b)the person who has arranged with the board for the facilities to be made available at such institution is charged under that sub-paragraph.

(6) The Department may, by order subject to affirmative resolution, amend paragraphs (2) to (5).

(7) Subject to paragraph (8), any charge made under this Article shall be of such amount as the board may determine and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the board may—

(a)make different provision for different cases including different provision in relation to different persons, circumstances or localities; and

(b)make charges in respect of each use of the library facilities made available by it, or charge an annual subscription or a deposit in respect of all or some of such facilities.

(8) A board shall not make a charge under this Article to a person living or working or undertaking a course of study outside the area of the board if it would not be entitled in the circumstances to make the same charge to a person living or working or undertaking a course of study within that area.

(9) A board which makes a charge under this Article shall display in a conspicuous place within each library premises of the board a notice specifying the library facilities made available by the board for which it makes a charge and, in the case of each such facility, the amount of the charge or the basis on which the charge will be calculated.

(10) The provisions of Part I of the 1988 Act (copyright) relating to the rental of copies of sound recordings, films and computer programs apply to any lending by a board of copies of such works, whether or not a charge is made for that facility.

(11) In this Article—

• “the 1988 Act” means the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988;

• “computer” means any device for storing and processing information;

• “copying” and “copies” shall be construed in accordance with section 17 of the 1988 Act;

• “library apparatus” means electronic or other apparatus intended for use with library material;

• “residential home” means a residential care home or nursing home registered under the Registered Homes (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 or any residential accommodation provided by a Health and Social Services Board or a Health and Social Services Trust;

• “written material” means—

  (a)

  any book, journal, pamphlet or other similar article; or

  (b)

  any reprographic copy (within the meaning of the 1988 Act) of any article falling within paragraph (a) or any other reproduction of such an article made by any means whatsoever.]

Bye-laws in respect of use of library facilitiesN.I.

78 .F11—(1) A board may from time to time make bye-laws regulating the use of library facilities provided or maintained by the board under this Order and the conduct of persons in[F12 the library premises of the board].

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), bye-laws made thereunder may include provisions for enabling officers of the board to exclude or remove from[F12 library premises of the board] any person who contravenes the bye-laws.

[F13Interpretation of Part VIIN.I.

78A.  In this Part—

• “library material” means—

  (a)

  words, figures, images, sounds or data recorded in or on any medium;

  (b)

  toys; and

  (c)

  educational artefacts;

• “library premises” means—

  (a)

  any premises which are occupied by a board and are premises where library facilities are made available by the board, in the course of the provision of a library service, to members of the public;

  (b)

  any vehicle which is used by a board for the purpose of providing such a service and is a vehicle in which facilities are so made available.]