[Publib] Charging patrons for programs

[Beth]

Hi All-

Please excuse cross posting.

In this age of budget cuts, my library system is considering charging
patrons a nominal entrance fee to attend library programming to help offset
the cost of the professional performers/teachers (because we just don't have
the staff to do all programming in house and the system cannot seem to
arrive at a reasonable maximum performance fee). Personally I think this
idea won't wash very well for the more urban part of our demographic, but I
was curious to see if this is becoming more common nowadays.

*Has any other library begun charging patrons entrance/nominal fees to
attend a library sponsored program? What are your good and bad experiences
with this? How did you implement it and explain it to your patrons? How did
your patrons react?

*Also, how many of you offer computer classes to your patrons? How many of
you charge them a fee to attend those classes? I'm looking for reasoning to
keep teaching computer classes at the library - our community services
director is now rethinking offering computer classes in the library at all.

Thanks in advance (as always) for all of your help! Feel free to shoot me an
email at the address below.

-- 
Beth Borene
Youth Services Librarian
beth.borene at gmail.com
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