[PUBLIB] public library membership fees (for local residents) (fwd)

[PUBLIB]

Sender: "Shelley Mardiros" <mardiros at telusplanet.net>
Subject: public library membership fees (for local residents)

Last month, I posed the question: 

 Are there any public libraries in the U.S.A. that charge LOCAL
RESIDENTS an annual fee for a membership card (or borrowers' card) to
borrow books from their local public library?

Thank you to all who replied.  My favourite answer was: "Yes, we call
them taxes."

That response aside, no-one replied in the positive.  I received a
flurry of responses from Wisconsin, where it is illegal for public
libraries to charge local residents. I also heard from Oklahoma,
Washington state, and Texas, all states where public libraries are
required to provide free service to local residents.  

I suspect that in other states, also, public libraries are free to local
residents, but there may not be specific laws or regulations prohibiting
fees in every state.  Could I ask that people from states other than
those named above drop me a short note confirming that public libraries
are free to local residents in that state (or letting me know if there
is indeed a public library that charges local residents an annual fee)?
It would be useful to me if I could confidently assert that Alberta and
Quebec are the only places in North America that charge local residents
an annual fee to belong to their public library. 

Please reply directly to mardiros at telusplanet.net, and I'll summarize
the results for the list-serve.  Thanks in advance.

Shelley Mardiros




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