[Publib] Discontinuing Fax Service

[Martha Grenzeback]

Our fax service is pretty popular. We don't really use it much for 
library business--we see it as a useful customer service. It's very 
simple to use and doesn't take up much staff time (instructions are 
on the machine and it's right next to the circulation desk).  Some 
people do come in only for that, but lots of people come in only to 
use the computer, too--how is that different? I think it's one more 
thing that helps make us vital to the community.

Scanning and e-mailing cannot completely replace the fax--legal 
documents, for example, must be faxed rather than e-mailed--we just 
had a patron in the other day who had 60 pages of affidavits and 
legal forms she had to fax. It would have cost her twice as much at 
UPS or wherever, and she was very grateful. Bought a couple of items 
off our booksale cart while she was waiting for all her pages to go 
through, and I know she's planning to come back. Some people come to 
the library for the first time because they've heard we have fax 
services--and then they discover we have more good stuff, and keep 
coming back. :-)

Martha Grenzeback
Baright Public Library
Ralston, NE



At 04:11 PM 9/2/2009, Michelle Mears wrote:
>Sorry to be bugging you again.  But this is a time-sensitive 
>question and I need some input before my Board meeting next week.
>
>If any libraries have discontinued your public fax service, can you 
>share the reasons why or your motivation for doing so?  I am leaning 
>very heavily towards stopping it, but I want to be sure I'm not 
>going too far out on a limb.
>
>Seems as if libraries started offering public fax service as a way 
>to justify getting and using a fax machine for their own library 
>business, particularly when so much of ILL was done over fax.  Like, 
>hey let's do this and we can recoup some of the costs while we're at 
>it (no library I know makes a profit at faxing).  But now I just see 
>it as a strain on my already overloaded staff and sort of unfair 
>competition with local businesses who charge a lot more.  And faxers 
>(like copiers) often come in just to do this one thing and are not 
>utilizing any other part of the library.
>
>Is scanning and e-mailing replacing the old-fashioned fax, or is it 
>still a necessary business machine?
>
>Michelle
>-----
>Michelle R. Mears, MSLIS, PhD
>Library Director
>Public Library of Enid & Garfield County
>120 W. Maine Ave.
>Enid, OK 73701-5606
>580.234.6313 Phone
>580.249.9280 Fax
>620.506.8576 Mobile
>http://www.enid.org/library/
>
>
>
>
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