HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 41

(By Delegates Higginbotham, Espinosa, Kelly, Atkinson, Wilson, Statler, Rohrbach, Cooper, Westfall, Hamrick and Kessinger)

[Introduced February 5, 2018; Referred to the Committee on Education]

Establishing the Virtual Library Study Commission to conduct a study regarding development of a statewide virtual library and to submit a written report of findings and recommendations to the House Education Committee and the Senate Education Committee not later than March 1, 2019.

Whereas, A number of states in the United States have established statewide virtual libraries composed of high-quality electronic resources and online services; and

Whereas, Public libraries, elementary and secondary school libraries, and the academic libraries of postsecondary education institutions have some resources available online, but not all resources are available to all groups nor to all counties in the state, thus creating an inequality of opportunity; and

Whereas, The availability of greater educational resources online provides the opportunity to lower costs for students and the public in purchasing educational materials; and

Whereas, Many college students face textbook costs of more than $1,000 per year, making education less affordable; open educational resources, representing the development of shared online accessible textbook collections, can bring educational costs down considerably while making efficient use of tax dollars; and

Whereas, A robust statewide virtual library would provide the opportunity for all West Virginia residents to access reliable online resources and allow research to be more than simply a web search of sources with unknown reliability; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Legislature of West Virginia does hereby establish the Virtual Library Study Commission to conduct a study and make recommendations regarding the establishment of a statewide virtual library in West Virginia; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the commission shall have the following members:

            (1)  The chair of the House Education Committee, or designee;

            (2) The chair of the Senate Education Committee, or designee;

            (3) The State Superintendent of Schools, or designee;

            (4) The Chancellor for Higher Education, or designee;

            (5) The Governor, or designee;

            (6) One member of the West Virginia Library Association selected by the president of the association; and

            (7) The chair of the West Virginia Library Commission, or designee; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the commission shall meet as necessary and submit a written report of findings and conclusions, including any recommendations for legislation relative to establishing a statewide virtual library, to the House Education Committee and the Senate Education Committee not later than March 1, 2019; and, be it

Further Resolved, That members of the commission shall serve without compensation; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Governor or his designee shall be responsible for designating staff to assist the commission in performing its duties and, by August 1, 2018, convening the commission for its first meeting, at which the commission shall adopt rules of procedure, a work schedule, and any additional measures that it deems necessary for the timely performance of its duties; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the commission shall terminate on June 30, 2019; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor, who shall be responsible for transmitting a copy to each person who is to serve on the commission or designate someone to serve in his or her place and to the president of each association from which commission members are being selected.