love2read Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 The town libraries have been charging a quarter for years, but now our county library charges 25cents when we request a book be put on hold, presumably because they have to pull it from the shelf and store it up front until we pick it up. This is so frustrating because our library is full of people at computers on facebook and other social networking sites, using electricity, wearing out mouse pads ;) and they pay nothing while we are using the library for the purpose it was designed and basically are punished. Our libraries don't offer special services to teachers and while we have always had a very good relationship with the librarians, they now cringe when they see me because they can tell I'm annoyed at the charge. I don't think we ever abused the service, which I understand some people did requesting 15 or 20 books at a time, but it was wonderful to be able to request a few books be put on hold through the online catalog and then just go and pick them up. Frustrated here, very frustrated. Any thoughts? I should just relax, I know :glare: grrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I think that's ridiculous. I think you need to ask who you should take your complaint to. The librarian behind the desk probably can't do anything about it, but you should make your displeasure known to someone in power. Our library offers all kinds of services at no charge. I would be ticked if a service involving books (!!) did cost money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Heavens, no, I'd be broke! I use ILL quite heavily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Not for putting a book on request, but we do for doing loans from libraries outside of our system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 We don't have to pay for holds on books located within the library district or for inter-library loans either (unless the library providing the ILL charges for the item, in which case the cost would be passed on to the patron). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No. I also request books on hold all the time and ILL. I would be broke, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty Mathy Mom Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 There is no charge for reserves. It's $2.00 per book for ILL.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I have just moved to a city with a library that lets you reserve online. I love it! if they started charging for it i would be soooo upset! I hope you can get them to change the policy at your library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsanniep Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No charge for holding books OR interlibrary loan here. Woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No way! That is horrible! I would never survive! I have 27 books on hold right now! I'm sorry you have to deal with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No, there's no charge for reserving a book here, and I can choose whether or not I want to pay for an ILL. Find out who's on the library board and write to them. I'd be in trouble if we had to pay for reserving books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I don't think we ever abused the service, which I understand some people did requesting 15 or 20 books at a time, but it was wonderful to be able to request a few books be put on hold through the online catalog and then just go and pick them up. We don't have fees for holds or for ILL. We just have overdue fines. Those were recently increased because we just lost a big chunk of state funding due to the economy. And requesting 15-20 books at a time is not an abuse of the service, at least not here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No, we're only charged if we put a book on hold but don't pick it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWillFly Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No. We don't pay anything for holds, which is great since I constantly have books on request and hold. That also includes interlibrary loan. I haven't requested a book from the other side of the state so I don't know it that is any different. Side note: you can't access any social networking sites from our library computers. You can't even access forums.:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCoppock Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Yikes! I am thankful my library does not charge for this service. We actually reserve all our books prior to going to the library so all we have to do is make one quick stop and pick them all up in one place. They also call us when books arrive from other locations throughout the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No, I would be broke as well. I can also put books on hold on-line, which I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 The town libraries have been charging a quarter for years, but now our county library charges 25cents when we request a book be put on hold, presumably because they have to pull it from the shelf and store it up front until we pick it up. This is so frustrating because our library is full of people at computers on facebook and other social networking sites, using electricity, wearing out mouse pads ;) and they pay nothing while we are using the library for the purpose it was designed and basically are punished. Our libraries don't offer special services to teachers and while we have always had a very good relationship with the librarians, they now cringe when they see me because they can tell I'm annoyed at the charge. I don't think we ever abused the service, which I understand some people did requesting 15 or 20 books at a time, but it was wonderful to be able to request a few books be put on hold through the online catalog and then just go and pick them up. Frustrated here, very frustrated. Any thoughts? I should just relax, I know :glare: grrrr We just started doing that, but we also charge people for using the computers (and always have). The reasons we started charging is because 1) funds keep shrinking and we need to find the money some way (don't get me started about trying to fundraise in this tiny place), 2) holds take time and paper, and 3) holds tend to sit on the shelf wasting more of our time and space. The charge seems to help remind people to make an effort to pick up books in a timely fashion. We don't charge for ILL requests unless we can't find it in province. If we have to search outside the province, we ask first and tell them there is a $5 charge to cover postage (which sometimes doesn't cover all the postage), fully refundable if we can't find the book anywhere. Sometimes other libraries outside the province have extra fees to borrow. If there are, we ask the patron if they want to pay whatever that fee is. If they say no, they don't want the book then, we still refund the $5. We do NOT refund the $5 if the patron has okayed the request and we have already placed it, but then they decide they don't want it anymore. I wish we didn't have to charge for anything. I wish we just had a decent enough levy from the municipality to run everything properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 If the book is within the county system, there is no charge. We can request up to 30 books at a time, but there is no limit on the number we can have checked out. If we are requesting a book via InterLibrary Loan, there is a charge only if the lending library charges a fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No charge for holds. Charge for ILL but I don't know what it is because the only time we ever requested it, the library purchased the book instead! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radish4ever Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No charge at ours, but there is a 20 book limit on how many you can reserve. You can even reserve a book from one branch and request to be able to pick it up at the other branch. :) They email you (or call you if you don't have emails set up) and you have 3 days to pick up the hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Free to request any item in the system, including bringing items over from another branch, unless the item is currently out. For items that are out, we get 30 freebies/year and after that it's 25c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No, and I'd be writing a letter of complaint regarding this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 That would be a nightmare!! I rarely see the inside of the library. We put books on hold constantly through the internet, then go through the drive through window to pick them up once or twice a week! I do sonlight and only buy a few books that the library doesn't have. I am between two different counties and keep running lists at both, holds lists of books that are checked out and that I will need in a month or less, it is a big thing for me. I have fun managing my book lists and so far haven't missed a book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 We don't have fees for holds or for ILL. We just have overdue fines. Those were recently increased because we just lost a big chunk of state funding due to the economy. And requesting 15-20 books at a time is not an abuse of the service, at least not here. We don't even have overdue fines. I sometimes have books out for months. :blush: I loooove my library!!! :001_wub: And 15-20 books? I ILL more than that frequently! They'll even request books from another consortium for me at no charge. OTOH, the library in the next town wants blood and your first and maybe second-born to do anything for you. They are mean and condescending. They're not even members of a consortium, because their library is sooo special, why would you want to ILL? I have no idea how I'd homeschool without my library! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 So far, Inter-library loan and holds are free. We can pretty much get anything in our town; it's a far-reaching, excellent system. For now. I want to cry when I hear grumbling from townsfolk about 'wasting money' on our library system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J'etudie Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Wow! A fee? No, we don't even pay for ILL and that includes requests from the libraries of four major universities. I generally have 10-15 requests out at an given time. Something else to be grateful for today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 At my library you can only place a hold on a book if it's checked out by someone else. It prevents it from being renewed, and when it comes in they hold it for you for one week. They DO charge a $1.00 fine if you fail to check the book out in the one-week window; I found this out the hard way once when I'd changed my mind about a book and taken it directly from the hold shelf to the return bin. Now I know to check it out first, even if for just a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No. I also request books on hold all the time and ILL. I would be broke, too. It's true! We picked about 9 ILL holds today, including a couple of history movies. When we got home, there was a new email informing us that another 4 had arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Our library doesn't charge for putting a book on hold. They even suggest it quite often, especially when they find out that I travel to several of the different branches to pick up books. There is no charge for the first 10 ILL per year. After that, there is a small fee. I've only used it twice in all the time I've been using the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepymommy Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No. I'd go broke if I did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No, we do not pay for holds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 No, thank goodness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicmommy Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Nope. We don't pay for holds or ILLs. We also have great online usage. I can place books on hold from any library in our system, check out what books I have, what is ready to pick up and do renewals. I can even pay down a late fee if one accumulates. I regularly tell our librarians how much we love our system. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pajama Mama Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 (edited) No way. We use the Carnegie library system here. All of the branches, including a few colleges, allow ILL at no charge. I order online and they are delivered to my local library--"for free"(say this like Adam Sandler in the movie Bedtime Stories) ETA- Our library just added a way to pay your fines online. I love this. I rarely have cash when at the library so the fees start to add up. I'm never happy about the fees but at least it's easier now. Edited September 17, 2009 by Pajama Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I would be broke if I had to pay for reserves! We can reserve 5 books a day. I have 3 library cards (me and kids) and I sit at the computer 2-3 days/week and order our 15 books at a time. Every time I walk in the library they automatically go and look and see what books came in for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Every time I walk in the library they automatically go and look and see what books came in for me. :lol: Me too! We have unlimited books on each card, but I have a teacher card which allows me to check out a book for 6 weeks (no renewals). Otherwise, we can check books for for two weeks (with two renewals=6 weeks). BUT they just reduced our (free) reserves and ILLs to TWO at a time per card!!! They stated it is a way to decrease expenses, but I see it as a way to decrease their circulation numbers, which is actually a BAD thing. So I kindly wrote them a letter today with my humble opinion on this most recent policy change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 No and they will even deliver to our library and hold books from other libraries in our county :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I think that you have a pretty compelling arguement that the library's primary mission involves books (although many library professionals would counter that it is really about information - but if that is so, what separates an internet cafe from a library?). I haven't seen a library charge for books requested from other branches in the system. But I have seen many library systems that would not pull books at all that were shelved at the branch where they would be picked up. I can sort of see the arguement that it requires more staffing to pull books and that there is a cost involved in getting books from one branch to another. The other fee I've seen is a $1 charge if you requested a book but did not pick it up within two weeks. You could avoid the charge by canceling the request, even after it had arrived (by phone or in person). But if you requested and it arrived, you would get a fine if you just ignored it. There are lots of costs of running a library. Staffing, supplies (like the plastic protectors for dust jackets or the plastic film for paperback covers), the books themselves, security (both systems and guards). And in many areas, the fines collected by the library for late books go into the town's general fund rather than back to the library. Charging a fee for service is one way that the library can try to collect money for what they are providing. As much as I think that good books should be the backbone of the library, the fact is that many patrons value video collections and internet access much more than the books in the stacks. I know our base library has far more people visiting to use the computers than to check out books. I really think the best approach is to get involved with your Friends of the Library group. It might even get you into book sales a day early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Nope. But I think this is one of those situations where befriending your library staff could work towards your advantage. Then again, I live in a small town so our library system is a bit more intimate than those in larger cities - so that have something to do with it. I wouldn't pay to put on hold, but we're at the library often enough during the week that I'd feel like I could snatch something as it came in. Or at least get a heads up from the librarians. We also reserve online. In fact, our librarians routinely place holds FOR us when they see new stuff coming in that they think we'd like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 No, but I only put books on hold when they have to be transferred from another library within my same city. I don't see it as their job to get my books for me if they are already located at the library I am going to. Interlibrary loans do cost money, though. I love my library! They order almost everything I ask them to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 the one that rarely has what I am looking for, does. Guess which one I use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3boys_mom Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 No, we do not have to pay for holds. I am not sure what I'd do if we had to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 No, we don't pay for holds. I've never heard of that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I don't see it as their job to get my books for me if they are already located at the library I am going to. Gosh, no! Is that what people mean by putting a book on hold?? :confused: I've only ever put a hold on a book when it was already checked out, and I wanted first dibs on it when it got returned (before someone else could snatch it!) Our library is only a few years old, though, and still quite small, so it's a bit competitive to get certain books and authors :D without a hold feature, it'd be knock-down, drag-out in the checkout line! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Gosh, no! Is that what people mean by putting a book on hold?? :confused: I've only ever put a hold on a book when it was already checked out, and I wanted first dibs on it when it got returned (before someone else could snatch it!) Our library is only a few years old, though, and still quite small, so it's a bit competitive to get certain books and authors :D without a hold feature, it'd be knock-down, drag-out in the checkout line! Yes, I put holds for popular items as well. For some, you'd never get it if you didn't put it on hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Heavens, no, I'd be broke! I use ILL quite heavily. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 We don't pay for hold or ILLs and we are allowed to check out 25 items per card but out library just cut hours to: Tues-Fri 9-6; Sat 9-5; Sun 2-5 So there are no evening hours. Not a problem for us but if I worked during the day it would make it very difficult to get in to the library. This is in a pretty good size city and I assume it was due to funding cuts. If I ever had lots of money to give, it would be to the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I would be furious, too. They're supposed to be encouraging people to read books, not penalizing them for it. In the various places we have lived, one library charged a fine if you reserved a book but failed to come pick it up -- I agree with that. Oh, and if you were sick, you could telephone in and get the hold extended or whatnot -- they were reasonable humans :) Most of them charge for inter-library loans, usually $1-3. But for routine in-system holds, no. Best wishes, Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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