[Publib] Re: Charging patrons for programs

[James Casey]

Public Library Service really isn't "free" and never has been.  The money has to come someplace for books, bytes, salaries, benefits, heat and lights, etc. and generally, that funding is derived from local property taxes.  If people from outside of the jurisdiction come and make use of library services, some nominal charges to them are not only justifiable, but fiscally responsible as a cost recovery measure and in recognition of the property taxes invested by the local community in their library.

The examples of fees used to augment tax support are numerous.  If you attend State Universities and Colleges and Community Colleges there are tuition and fees charged as well as taxes we pay to underwrite the common good we all derive from such institutions (even if we and our family members are not attending).  We pay taxes for highways as well as tolls when we use them.  Parks charge use fees to assist the local tax base with the cost of operations.

Our library charges some fees for borrowing high demand AV materials as well as for Internet access and printing costs.

If we are solely dependent on our already overburdened property tax base and refuse to consider some form of cost recovery through fees, it could bode ill for the future of public library funding --- not to mention the salaries that we can afford to pay to Library employees.

James B. Casey --- My own views.
Director of Oak Lawn Public Library
ALA Council Member



-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Larry T. Nix
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 2:30 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Re: Charging patrons for programs

It is illegal to charge fees for library programs or any other public
library service in Wisconsin.  Charging fees for library services runs
counter to the concept of the free public library which dates back to the
establishment of the Peterborough Town Library in New Hampshire 175 years
ago (see http://www.libraryhistorybuff.org/peterborough.htm).  Any fee
serves as a deterent to library use which is the opposite of what public
libraries should want to happen. This would be especially repungnant for
library programs for children.  Hopefully there aren't any public libraries
that would resort to this approach to library funding.

Larry

Larry T. Nix
Library History Buff
3605 Niebler Lane
Middleton, WI 53562
nix at libraryhistorybuff.org
http://www.libraryhistorybuff.org