[Publib] Charging for Guest Use of Internet

[Robert Balliot]

Yes, but all of those resources generate revenue on their own.  They create
a
vibrant human ecology that brings people in who use commercial resources.
Those commercial resources in turn generate tax based revenue.  If Central
Park did not exist, how successful and how valuable would the properties
surrounding it be?

The relatively new (2001) Tantallon Library in Nova Scotia is a economic
boon
to the local economy:

*http://tinyurl.com/yzvlm7k*
**
Placement in the shopping center creates a no cost environment/ social
center/
information resource/ educational opportunity amongst a plethora of tangible
and thriving commercial ventures.

The Library A example would create the same opportunities - driving sales
tax revenue and increasing the commercial tax base while off-setting
personal
property taxes.

R. Balliot
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com



On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 5:40 PM, Dale McNeill <dale.mcneill at gmail.com>wrote:

> I'm very much in favor of having everything in the library free to people
> as they use it. However, just because I'm in favor of it, doesn't mean it's
> possible or likley.
>
> Let's take Jamie's excellent set of observations below.  When there is more
> competion for a scarcer resource, many local governments do charge:
>
> 1) Parks.  Many cities do charge for services like soccer fields, party
> pavilions, and so forth--even if those things are in the public park.
>
> 2) Parking. I don't know where you were in Manhattan that you found free
> street parking (though, of course, there is some, particularly on Sundays),
> but many local governments do charge for parking in busy areas.  They may
> have parking meters, fines for exceeding the metered time, permits for
> residents (free or paid), or other ways to charge when there is great
> demand.  In my neighborhood in Queens, parking is free on residential
> streets and paid on streets with more businesses.
>
> 3) Roads.  You may not have paid to drive up and down Broadway, but you do
> pay if you want to drive to and from Manhattan (not always, of course, as a
> few bridges are free).  Most bridges and tunnels connecting to Manhattan
> have a toll.
>
> None of those things are exactly like charging non-residents (however
> defined) for use of the Internet.  Each of them helps us think about what
> might make the most sense in our local library.  Maybe parking should be
> free. My home town in Oklahoma decided to remove parking meters and have
> only a time limit for parking.  In part, they did this because they realized
> that it was costing about a much to collect the parking money as they
> collected.  (By the way, the library in that town is supported entirely by
> sales taxes, yet has a non-resident fee to borrow materials for people who
> live outside the city limits--even though it's the only place to shop in the
> entire county).
>
> These decisions don't have to be the same forever.  One board and director
> may well make decisions that another board and/or director decide to
> change.  Circumstances change.
>
> A related issue, perhaps, is use of Internet by customers who owe fees.  At
> the library where I currently work, customers who owe fees have the same
> Internet priviliges as any other customers.  But there are many public
> libraries where this is not the case.
>
> All of this goes toward, I think, whether using the Internet is more like
> reading a book in the library or more like checking out a book.  Arguements
> can be made either way.
> Great conversation!
>
> Dale
>   On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 2:07 PM, Watson, Jamie <watson at hcplonline.info>wrote:
>
>>  To take Robert's point to the next level....a few weeks ago I was in
>> Philadelphia. I had lunch in a local park. I don't live there or pay taxes.
>> No one asked me if I did before I sat on the bench, walked on the grass,
>>
>> In New York, I took advantage of free street parking, as opposed to paying
>> for a private garage. I also walked extensively down their sidewalks and
>> drove on their roads. No one asked me to pay a toll for driving up and down
>> Broadway, but I'm sure I don't pay to keep it paved.
>>
>> We as libraries can be looked on as free resources, like parks and roads
>> and public art. Or we can be looked at as those who make everything so hard,
>> that those who MAY move into your community at some point in time don't
>> support you because they remember all the BARRIERS you set up to keep them
>> from enjoying you when they were visiting. Frankly, it's this attitude
>> that's gonna kill us.
>>
>> Jamie Watson
>> Assistant Materials Manager
>> 1221-A Brass Mill Road
>> Belcamp, MD 21017
>> Phone: 410-273-5600 x. 2276
>> Fax: 410-273-5600
>> watson at hcplonline.info
>>
>>
>
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