MARYLAND STATE LIBRARY AGENCY

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

25 South Charles St., Suite 1310, Baltimore, MD 21201

The Maryland State Library Agency began in 1935 as the Office of Public Libraries under the State Board of Education, and became the Division of Library Extension in 1946. It reorganized as the Division of Library Development and Services within the State Department of Education in 1969. Formerly directly under the Office of State Superintendent of Schools, the Division transferred to Teaching and Learning in July 2013. In July 2017, it was established as an independent agency by the General Assembly (Chapters 337 & 338, Acts of 2017).

[photo, Bowie Branch Library, 15210 Annapolis Road, Bowie, Maryland] The Maryland State Library Agency administers federal and State programs to improve library services in public schools and libraries throughout the State (Code Education Article, secs. 23-101 through 23-105).

Appointed by the Maryland State Library Board with Senate advice and consent, the State Librarian heads the Maryland State Library Agency (Code Education Article, sec. 23-104).


Bowie Branch Library, 15210 Annapolis Road, Bowie, Maryland, September 2017. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Under the Agency are the County Library Capital Grants Program, Finance and Support Services, the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, and the Public Libraries and State Networking Branch. The Agency also is responsible for the Deaf Culture Digital Library. The Maryland State Library Board advises the Agency.

DEAF CULTURE DIGITAL LIBRARY

c/o Rockville Memorial Library
21 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850

In October 2014, the Deaf Culture Digital Library was authorized by the General Assembly (Chapter 606, Acts of 2014).

The Deaf Culture Digital Library is the primary information center on deaf resources for library customers and staff in Maryland. The Library is authorized to conduct a needs assessment to identify gaps in library services for deaf patrons, implement strategies to fill those gaps, and better coordinate library services for the deaf.

In coordination with the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Library develops and provides sensitivity training for State and county library staff to help them better understand deaf patrons and their needs (Code Education Article, sec. 23-109).

MARYLAND STATE LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND & PRINT DISABLED

415 Park Ave., Baltimore, MD 21201 - 3603

[photo, Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 415 Park Ave., Baltimore, Maryland] Opened in 1968 as the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, the Library was renamed the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled in October 2020 (Chapters 272 & 273, Acts of 2020).

The Library serves eligible blind and print disabled residents of Maryland.


Maryland State Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, 415 Park Ave., Baltimore, Maryland, December 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

The Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled is the Maryland regional library under the National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress.

Under the Library is one subregional branch: the Special Needs Library.

SPECIAL NEEDS LIBRARY
6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20817

Serving the blind and physically handicapped residents of Montgomery County, the Special Needs Library started in 1972. It is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES & STATE NETWORKING BRANCH

Origins of the Public Libraries and State Networking Branch trace to 1902 when the State Library Commission was created by the General Assembly (Chapter 247, Acts of 1902). Commission responsibilities for public library development were assigned to the Office of Public Libraries under the State Board of Education in 1935, and to the Division of Library Extension from 1947 to 1969 as part of the State Department of Education.

[photo, Crisfield Public Library, Somerset County Library System, 100 Collins St., Crisfield, Maryland] Within the Division of Library Development and Services, the Public Libraries Branch formed in 1969 and was renamed the Public Libraries and State Networking Branch in 1988. Formerly under the State Department of Education, the Branch was made part of the Maryland State Library Agency in July 2017.

To improve public library services across Maryland, the Branch provides leadership and technical assistance, and oversees the State Library Network.

Crisfield Public Library, Somerset County Library System, 100 Collins St., Crisfield, Maryland, June 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

STATE LIBRARY NETWORK
Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201

Under the Public Libraries and State Networking Branch, the State Library Network enables Maryland residents to obtain library materials and gain access to information not available in their local library. The Network provides interlibrary loan, direct lending of materials, technical assistance to libraries, and staff training.

More than 400 Maryland libraries participate in the State Library Network. These include public, university, college and community college libraries. Centered at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, the Network is aided by three regional resource centers: the Eastern Shore Regional Resource Center (Salisbury); Southern Maryland Regional Library Association (Charlotte Hall); and the Western Maryland Public Libraries Regional Resource Center (Hagerstown) (Code Education Article, secs. 23-201, 23-202).

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