FINDINGS; PURPOSE AND METHODS.

The legislature finds that it is necessary to assist libraries across the state to promote the public good by achieving the following public purposes through the following methods:

(1) to promote the future well-being of the citizenry, enhance quality teaching and research excellence at institutions of higher education through the efficient exchange of information and the sharing of library resources, improve educational resources in all communities, and expand the availability of information about clinical medical research and the history of medicine;

(2) to maximize the effectiveness of library expenditures by enabling libraries to share staff expertise and to share library resources in print and in an electronic form, including books, journals, technical reports, and databases;

(3) to increase the intellectual productivity of students and faculty at the participating institutions of higher education by emphasizing access to information rather than ownership of documents and other information sources;

(4) to facilitate joint purchasing agreements for purchasing information services and encourage cooperative research and development of information technologies; and

(5) to enhance the ability of public schools to further student achievement and lifelong learning.