[Publib] RE: Charging patrons for programs

[Insley, Diane]

I don't know where you are located, but in Texas we would not be able to
charge for programs.  We could keep out local funding and charge, but we
would have to give up our state funding.  I can imagine that if we
started charging, it would not be popular.  During the summer reading
program, we often want to book a professional performer and we have had
good luck finding sponsors in our community - the Lions club and Grande
Communications have both paid for programs recently.  We do provide PR
and a big thank you to our sponsors - so you might try this before
charging small fees to everyone.  

We do have computer classes, we do not charge.  There is a model in
town, a local church has computer classes and they were free.  Now that
they charge $5 per session, they have better attendance.  It is hard to
believe that such a small fee would keep people attending for the 12
week session, but when it was free people would sign up and then not
come.  

Diane Insley
Librarian
San Marcos (TX) Public Library


Message: 5
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 13:48:18 -0400
From: Beth <beth.borene at gmail.com>
Subject: [Publib] Charging patrons for programs
To: publib at webjunction.org
Message-ID:
	<849b393f0804011048p85745c7lb45155475e448ff3 at mail.gmail.com>
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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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