Section 3035.525 Priority of Public Library Construction Act Projects

Priority ranking for construction grant projects shall be done if the appropriation for any fiscal year is insufficient to fund grants for all eligible applicants. In this case, an eligible public library construction project shall be qualified for a construction grant award by the State Librarian in order of the priority ranking described in subsection (a).

a) Libraries determined to be eligible shall be eligible in the order of:

1) Replacement or reconstruction of public library facilities destroyed or damaged by flood, tornado, fire, earthquake or other disasters, either man-made or produced by nature;

2) Projects designed to address population growth or to replace aging public library facilities;

3) Replacement or reconstruction of public library facilities determined to be severe and continuing health or life safety hazards;

4) Alterations necessary to provide accessibility for qualified individuals with disabilities; and

5) Other unique solutions to facility needs. These projects include design concepts that enhance library service to the community, including, but not limited to, technological improvements and energy conservation.

b) The library's ranking within its level of priority shall be determined as follows:

1) In priority 1, the public library presents documentation to the State Library explaining the nature and scope of the disaster, including an explanation of replacement or reconstruction costs covered by insurance and other State or federal grants sources.

2) In priorities 2, 3 and 4, points are awarded based on the extent to which the applicant's present or existing facilities meet the standard of .6 square foot per capita for total floor space in its public library. The total square feet will be taken from the most current Illinois Public Library Annual Report on file at the Illinois State Library. The population served will be taken from the most recent Public Library Per Capita grant application on file at the Illinois State Library. The following describes how the square feet and population will be determined for a public library using the population and square feet for only the legal (taxed) service area of the library.

% OF
STANDARD		POINTS
0-25		5
26-50		4
51-70		3
71-90		2
91-100		1
Over 100		0

3) In priorities 2, 3 and 4, additional points will be awarded for age of building.

AGE OF BUILDING	POINTS
100 years or more with no substantial work in the last 20 years	5
100 years or more with some substantial work in the last 20 years	4
50-99 years with no substantial work in the last 20 years	3
50-99 years with some substantial work in the last 20 years	2
20-49 years with no substantial work in the last 10 years	1
20-49 years with some substantial work in the last 10 years	0
Do not have a public library facility	2

4) In priority 5, points will be awarded based on subsections (b)(2) and (3).

c) In the event of a tie between two or more public libraries in determining ranking within a level of priority, ranking for those tied public libraries shall be established by consideration of additional factors including, but not limited to, whether any of the public libraries have received construction assistance from the State Librarian from any source in the previous three years; whether any of the public libraries applied for and received a public library per capita grant in each of the three previous fiscal years; the percentage of the population living at or below the federal poverty level within the territory served by the public libraries; shovel readiness of the projects; and whether the public libraries submitted a response to the most recent public library capital needs assessment contained in Section 3035.560.

(Source: Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 4348, effective March 19, 2013)