(a) There is established within the Department of Planning and Natural Resources the Office of Libraries and Archives which shall be headed by a Director. The Office shall be the Territorial Library Agency.
(b) The Director of the Office is designated the Territorial Librarian, who shall be appointed by the Governor and suitably qualified to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of this chapter.
(c) The powers and duties of the Territorial Librarian shall be:
(1) to promote, support, implement and coordinate, as appropriate, library services to the public on a territory-wide basis;
(2) to administer and maintain a public library system serving all residents of the Territory;
(3) to establish, improve and supervise library services for the visually and physically handicapped, and institutions supported in whole or in part by funds of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, including orphanages, senior citizens' homes and convalescent homes;
(4) to cooperate with the Archivist of the Virgin Islands and, to the extent appropriate, ensure and encourage the collection, preservation, indexing and access to the publications of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands;
(5) to fulfill the responsibilities related to the maintenance of “depository libraries” established pursuant to Title 3, chapter 33, VIC;
(6) to improve library services for the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands through consultation, coordination or administration;
(7) to provide, to the extent feasible, those specialized library services not generally appropriate, economical or available in other libraries of the United States Virgin Islands;
(8) with the cooperation of the Commissioner of Property and Procurement, and in accordance with the provisions of Title 31, chapter 23, VIC, to negotiate and enter into agreements or contracts for goods, services, library materials, research, instruction or for other purposes related to the provision of library services to the public;
(9) to seek and accept, on behalf of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, gifts, grants, bequests, devises, contributions or donations from any public or private source and to administer and dispose of monies in accordance with the purposes of this chapter;
(10) to issue rules and regulations governing public library services, including public library hours, lending policies, use of the public libraries and the establishment of a system of fines for borrowers who violate lending policies;
(11) to publish an annual report which includes a description of available public library services and materials, outlines of territorial library needs to the public, discussion of long and short range plans for public library development, a list of the minimum national library standards and estimates of the amount of funds necessary to meet those standards;
(12)
(A) to establish and operate a commercial outlet, research center and reading room for the sale of books, photographs, maps and other related materials;
(B) notwithstanding the provisions of Title 31, chapter 23, VIC, to discard or dispose of, by sale or exchange, library materials or other public library property which are obsolete, duplicative or have ceased to be useful. Sale proceeds of such commercial outlet, research center and reading room, under subparagraph (A) surplus property shall be paid to the Government of the United States Virgin Islands and credited to the Library, Archives and Museums Revolving Fund as established pursuant to Title 33, chapter 111, section 3059, VIC;
(13) to present to the Governor for submission to the Legislature an itemized budget request for salaries, facilities, upkeep, equipment, supplies, services, other operating expenses and contributions to the Libraries and Archives Revolving Fund necessary to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of this chapter;
(14) to present to the Governor, for submission to the Legislature, requests for capital improvements and acquisitions to provide the necessary physical plants for maintaining and expanding public library services in the Territory; and
(15) to perform such other duties pertaining to public library services as may be necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the territorial library agency or the Office.
(d) The Enid M. Baa Library and Archives established as a lending library and archives is continued under this chapter exclusively as the Territorial Archives of the Virgin Islands for the collection, preservation, indexing, management of and access to the publications of the Government of the Virgin Islands and historical materials, including books, correspondence, documents, papers, pamphlets, works of art, models, pictures, photographs, plats, maps, films, motion pictures, sound recordings, and other objects or materials having historical or commemorative value.