(a) The records access officer shall be the custodian of the records of the council. Any person wishing to inspect and/or obtain a copy of such records may make application in writing to the records access officer, designating, in a reasonably specific manner, the record or records sought. Requests should be addressed to: Records Access Officer, New York State Council on the Arts, 80 Centre Street, New York, New York 10013. Applications for inspection of records may also be made in person to the records access officer at the council's offices at 80 Centre Street, New York, New York 10013, during regular working hours on each business day the council is open to the public. In such instances, applicants will be required to furnish a written request for records, which may be on a form provided by the records access officer, listing the records requested.

(b) A request shall reasonably describe the record or records sought. Whenever possible, a person requesting records should supply information regarding dates, file designations or other information that may help to describe the records sought.

(c) The council shall respond to any request reasonably describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt of the request.

(d) If the records access officer does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, he or she shall furnish a written acknowledgment of receipt of the request and a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied. If access to records is neither granted nor denied within 10 business days after the date of acknowledgment of receipt of a request, it shall be construed as a denial of access that may be appealed.

(e) Should a requested record be currently in use by the council, the inspection of said record by an applicant may be reasonably delayed until the record is available.