(a)

(1) The Department of Higher Education and the Arkansas State Library shall develop a digitized collection of information that includes information that is in the public domain, cleared for public distribution over the Internet, and to which students of public postsecondary schools in Arkansas have access.

(2) The digitized information under this subchapter shall be available for public access in at least one (1) location in each Arkansas county.

(b) (1) The department and the library shall develop criteria regarding the:

(A) Selection of materials to be digitized;

(B) Need for public access; and

(C) Means of cataloging or indexing the materials and digitizing them.

(2) Materials to be digitized may include:

(A) Print documents;

(B) Texts;

(C) Manuscripts;

(D) Photographs;

(E) Art reproductions;

(F) Postcards;

(G) Illustrations;

(H) Sound;

(I) Film; and

(J) Video.

(c) The department shall make grants under this subchapter to assist public postsecondary institutions and other public or private entities in:

(1) Selecting and digitizing information; and

(2) Developing and providing access to the digital collection in at least one (1) location in each Arkansas county.

(d)

(1) Each postsecondary public institution in Arkansas shall cooperate with the department in developing the digitized collection under this subchapter.

(2) Each postsecondary public institution and any entity receiving a grant under this subchapter shall develop a plan to inform the public regarding the use of the resources made available under this subchapter.

(3) Funds made available under this subchapter may be used by the receiving entities to obtain matching funds from federal programs.