N.Y. Educ. Law § 253

§ 253. Public and association libraries and museums. 1. All\nprovisions of this section and of sections two hundred fifty-four to two\nhundred seventy-one inclusive shall apply equally to libraries, museums,\nand to combined libraries and museums, and the word "library" shall be\nconstrued to mean reference and circulating libraries and reading rooms.\n 2. The term "public" library as used in this chapter shall be\nconstrued to mean a library, other than professional, technical or\npublic school library, established for free public purposes by official\naction of a municipality or district or the legislature, where the whole\ninterests belong to the public; the term "association" library shall be\nconstrued to mean a library established and controlled, in whole or in\npart, by a group of private individuals operating as an association,\nclosed corporation or as trustees under the provisions of a will or deed\nof trust; and the term "free" as applied to a library shall be construed\nto mean a library maintained for the benefit and free use on equal terms\nof all the people of the community in which the library is located.\n 3. The term "Indian library" shall be construed to mean a public\nlibrary established by the tribal government of the Saint Regis Mohawk\ntribe, the Seneca Nations of Indians or the Tonawanda Seneca tribe and\nlocated on their respective reservations, to serve Indians residing on\nsuch reservations and any other persons designated by its board of\ntrustees.\n