Westchester State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin has announced that Governor Paterson is including a library cooperative bidding bill in his amendment to the budget that was sponsored by Paulin and State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D,WF)

The legislation permits public libraries and library systems to engage in cooperative bidding for shared services, equipment and supplies. Currently public libraries are not permitted to pool their services, equipment and supplies together for cooperative bidding purposes.

Michael Borges, executive director of the NY Library Association (NYLA) is pleased that the governor has included the measure in his executive budget saying it  will "Save towns, villages and school districts money at a time when state funding for library services has suffered repeated cuts."