(a) Existing public or private nonprofit medical libraries
The Secretary, with the advice of the Board, shall make grants to and enter into contracts with existing public or private nonprofit medical libraries so as to enable each of them to serve as the regional medical library for the geographical area in which it is located.
(b) Uses for grants and contractsThe uses for which grants and contracts under this section may be employed include the—
(2)
cataloging, binding, and other procedures for processing library resource materials for use by those who are served by the library;
(3)
acquisition of duplicating devices and other equipment to facilitate the use of the resources of the library by those who are served by it;
(c) Conditions
(1) Grants and contracts under this section shall only be made to or entered into with medical libraries which agree—
(B)
to provide free loan services to qualified users and make available photoduplicated or facsimile copies of biomedical materials which qualified requesters may retain.
(2) The Secretary, in awarding grants and contracts under this section, shall give priority to medical libraries having the greatest potential of fulfilling the needs for regional medical libraries. In determining the priority to be assigned to any medical library, the Secretary shall consider—
(A)
the adequacy of the library (in terms of collections, personnel, equipment, and other facilities) as a basis for a regional medical library; and
(d) Basic resources materials; limitation on grant or contractGrants and contracts under this section for basic resource materials to a library may not exceed—
(1)
50 percent of the library’s annual operating expense (exclusive of Federal financial assistance under this part) for the preceding year; or
(2)
in case of the first year in which the library receives a grant under this section for basic resource materials, 50 percent of its average annual operating expenses over the past three years (or if it had been in operation for less than three years, its annual operating expenses determined by the Secretary in accordance with regulations).
(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title IV, § 475, as added Pub. L. 99–158, § 2, Nov. 20, 1985, 99 Stat. 862.)