[Publib] Charging patrons for programs

[Lise Chlebanowski]

Please respond to the list. I think many of us would benefit from this information! 

 

Lisë Chlebanowski

Library Manager

Avondale Old Town Library

328 West Western Ave.

Avondale, AZ  85323

623-333-2611 d

623-333-0260 f

e-mail: lchlebanowski at avondale.org <mailto:lchlebanowski at avondale.org> 

website: www.avondale.org/library

 

Now Reading: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

Now Listening: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

 

 

________________________________

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Beth
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 10:48 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Charging patrons for programs

 

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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