s/o paid libraries

[athomeontheprairie]

there are absolutely no libraries anywhere in my state that charge a fee, with the possible exception of some universities ( though University materials can be checked out through our local libraries on interlibrary loan free of charge).

if you are paying for library privileges, why? do you have free public libraries? do they not offer services the others do? what services are they offering that the public libraries do not?

I just have a hard time wrapping my head around this since it is so foreign to where I live. Thanks!

[bolt.]

Our public library has a fee for adult lending cards. I thought that was the norm. (You don't need a card to go in and use the materials.)

[Arcadia]

The county library I am in now has a yearly family membership fee if we do not live in the area that does not pay the library bond. Those residing in the area that pays the library bond which flag out as a line item in the property tax do not need to pay the membership fee.  It is $80 per year for a family card which can be used at all the libraries under the county system so it is not that pricy.  We can still use the libraries for free, just not able to borrow stuff home.  The other libraries near me do not charge a fee.

[twoxcell]

I have never heard of paying for a public library either. Ours are paid with property taxes.

[Rachel]

Ours are paid for through property taxes.  If you have a library card in your home county, you can also get a public library card in any other county you wish for no additional fee.

[regentrude]

there are absolutely no libraries anywhere in my state that charge a fee, with the possible exception of some universities ( though University materials can be checked out through our local libraries on interlibrary loan free of charge).

if you are paying for library privileges, why? do you have free public libraries? do they not offer services the others do? what services are they offering that the public libraries do not?

 

Public libraries are financed through local property taxes. All the public libraries I am familiar with are free for residents of the city or county, because residents pay for it via their taxes. The libraries charge non-residents a fee, because they do not contribute through taxes.

[regentrude]

I have never heard of paying for a public library either. Ours are paid with property taxes.

 

Yes, but does your town extend free library privileges to people who do NOT live there and do NOT contribute to the property taxes?

[Matryoshka]

Yes, but does your town extend free library privileges to people who do NOT live there and do NOT contribute to the property taxes?

Yes. I can get materials from any library in our state (not just in our consortium ) for free, delivered to me no less. Getting stuff from outside our consortium takes a bit longer than regular ILL, so I also have a card from a nearby town in a different consortium, so I can easily ILL books from them... Card and ILL also free from them.

[regentrude]

Yes. I can get materials from any library in our state (not just in our consortium ) for free, delivered to me no less. Getting stuff from outside our consortium takes a bit longer than regular ILL, so I also have a card from a nearby town in a different consortium, so I can easily ILL books from them... Card and ILL also free from them.

 

I don't mean through ILL; this is free in all the libraries I know as well.

Can a non-resident walk into your library and check out books or DVDs for free?

[Matryoshka]

I don't mean through ILL; this is free in all the libraries I know as well.

Can a non-resident walk into your library and check out books or DVDs for free?

Of course. If they're in the same consortium, they can just use their card from their town. If your town is from outside our consortium, I think they just link your home card into our system so you can still use that. In other consortiums they just let you apply for a card from their town (free). I just remembered I actually have cards from two other nearby towns. One of them is issued in Town B, but because since I got it my schedule has changed, I most often use it in Town A, including having all my ILLs from that consortium delivered there.

[Loowit]

Our public libraries are free to those that live in the city limits and pay taxes there.  We live a few blocks outside of the city limits and thus would have to pay a fee to have a library card.  My parents pay annually for a library card.  My DH looked into trying to become part of an inter-library loan system, but because of the way our taxes are set up in our county we would have to get voter approval and there is a set percentage that is allowed for this particular tax line and it has to be shared with the fire districts.  So by asking to get money for this we would be taking money away from our fire departments, not a good thing.  It is pretty stupid IMO.  It is also very hard around here to get voters to pay for money to go towards libraries.  The town my brother lives in about 10 miles from us consistently votes down library bonds for their small city.  So they have a public library, but it is very small, underfunded and rarely open.

 

Right now DH is working out of town during the week and is renting a room.  He is living in a bigger city and is able to get a library card there.  So I am able to put books on hold and he picks them up for me.  It can be a bit of a pain, but it works.

[athomeontheprairie]

I don't mean through ILL; this is free in all the libraries I know as well.

Can a non-resident walk into your library and check out books or DVDs for free?

Absolutely. my family does not live in any town. we have library cards to three separate libraries. When I worked in the library we offered card to or of state visitors as well ( whether they are visiting family, hunting, or fishing or hanging out at the lake)

 

Btw, since my family does not live in town, materials can be shipped to my house free of charge (though we choose not to use this service, our is available)

[Wheres Toto]

My fairly small town that doesn't have it's own post office, also doesn't have it's own library.  I can check books out of the main county branch on a restricted card that does allow me to order books from other branches, but to be able to check books out from libraries closer to home, I would have to pay an annual fee.  Although, I do now work in a town with a library and I think I can join that one as a resident employee of some sort.

[idnib]

I don't mean through ILL; this is free in all the libraries I know as well.

Can a non-resident walk into your library and check out books or DVDs for free?

 

Some libraries are like this. For example, the Berkeley public library allows free cards for any resident of the state:

 

http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/librarycards/

 

They are definitely extending themselves past the tax base. It's a very active, community-supported, and progressive library system.

 

ETA: San Francisco is the same way: http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000001201

[Sherry in OH]

I don't mean through ILL; this is free in all the libraries I know as well.

Can a non-resident walk into your library and check out books or DVDs for free?

 

 

Yes – to adults, providing they are residents of the state and have a valid photo ID with their current address and a piece of official mail or a check showing the same address.  There are additional requirements for minors.

 

I have cards for 5 public libraries.  I only use one of them as three of the libraries are now in the same consortium (yea!) and the other two are too far away.  I have free university library access because my husband works for a university.  

[Arcadia]

Can a non-resident walk into your library and check out books or DVDs for free?

I have library cards in five library systems which I do not pay tax for.  All they need was my DMV card showing that I am a California resident when I applied. My own city library is well funded by the library tax on my property tax, however residents outside my city can still apply for the same library card.   

In fact the county library that started charging non-residents only did that a few years ago citing financial issues and overuse of libraries by non-residents.

[Cosmos]

I pay for a library card in the next town over. I have a free library membership in my own town, and we go there several times a week. (It's just down the street -- love that!) But the next town is a much wealthier town and their library reflects that. It's huge, both the building and the collection. It costs about $120 for a yearly membership, and it is completely worth it to me.

[HSmomof2]

Our public libraries are paid for by property taxes and are free to residents. There are also reciprocal agreements with almost all the other library systems in our state that are also free to get library cards. We have a few cities that do not have their own libraries and do not pay property taxes toward public libraries. They cannot get library cards at our public library. There is no fee system. They can use the library and services within the library, but cannot get a card or check anything out.

[threedogfarm]

Our library is free for residents of our town only.  All others must pay a fee.  I do think that is fair since we are the ones to support it through our property tax dollars.  ILL is free throughout the state and all libraries in the state participate (even the public universities!).  I can usually get just about any book through ILL and I love the fact that I can search online for it now and simply submit my list to the librarian.  

 

The only thing I do not understand is that overdue fines are paid to the town, not the library and it is my understanding that the town does not keep track of how much revenue was produced by the fines.  It just goes into the town fund.  That sounds like a very odd system to me. . .

 

[RootAnn]

I don't mean through ILL; this is free in all the libraries I know as well.

 

It isn't free where I live. ILL cost $$ here. In fact, when I looked into it when we first lived here, I found I could buy quite a few of the books cheaper through Amazon ($4 - $0.01 for the book & $3.99 for shipping) than get them through ILL with our local library. In-town people can get a card, but if you live outside the city limits, you pay for the ability to check out books ($35/year??).

 

We moved from Illinois which had a FABULOUS library system. (It was pricey for the citizens, of course. But I would gladly pay for such a system here like we had there.)   :svengo:

 

We pay for a subscription to the Big City library system over an hour away ($75/year). It is by far the best use of my homeschooling money every year.

 

Our local library allows only 15 items PER FAMILY to be checked out at any one time. We were able to get homeschoolers in the area additional items (25) through extensive lobbying and the fact that they know we are there multiple times per week already. (About three years ago, they changed the limit for homeschoolers. As long as you self-identify as homeschoolers, you get the extra books on your limit.) Availability of books is low. They always have the latest smut, but they are low on classics and good quality children's lit. (Then again, maybe this town doesn't feel the need for good children's lit. What classics & good books they DO have are hardly ever checked out. My kids frequently point out the books they check out haven't been checked out for years.)

 

The Big City library has about eight branches & you can reserve books over the internet (not available at local library) to be delivered to any one of the branches you choose. You can renew the books four times (as long as no one else is waiting for them) for three weeks each (one renewal possible locally). There are NO FINES on children's books checked out on children's cards. You can check out 25 books PER CARD with as many cards as there are members of your family.

 

The only downside is the drive & time it takes to get up to the Big City & back.

[Χά�ων]

I belong to 4 different public libraries. I pay no annual fee's to use them.  

 

The one in the county where I live. It sucks and I never use it. 

The one where I used to live (suburbs) I use it the most. Awesome resources, easy to use online system. Only rarely do I need to use ILL.

The one in the major city an hour away. Before I moved I used it a lot. I still have my card for if I need to use it.

The one near one of the rinks DS skates at. They have $1/day/item late fees. I do not use it because I would be in the poor house or have severe anxiety over the possibility that items could be overdue.

[JustEm]

Our library system is based on the counties in my state. There are 3 counties in my state and so 3 library systems. My counties library system has 15 libraries in it and I a free library card that allows me to use/take things out of any of those libraries.  I can either go to that library myself or request that they ship the books I want to my local library and contact me when they are in.  The online database lists ALL the books available in all 15 libraries and all the books in the other 2 counties in our state.  We can request books from the other counties also (not considered interlibrary loan.)  We can also request books using interlibrary loan which they will find the book you want and have it shipped to your library.  I've had books shipped from halfway across the country.  

 

I suspect if I want to get a card for one of the other county library systems I may have to pay a fee but I don't need to since they share their books with our county.

[Farrar]

Non-residents can also come get a card at our library.  You have to be a resident of a nearby jurisdiction (our library system is a not-a-state library system since we have no counties), but it's a very generous area.  All those counties also reciprocate for us.  I don't take advantage of that though since all the other library systems are meaner than ours.

 

I  :wub:  my library.  And every time I come here and read about everyone else's library, I love it even more.  Some of you have some good libraries too, but I've learned from this board that a shocking number of people have terrible libraries.

[PuddleJumper1]

Our local library is free along with the other two libraries in the co-op. We live in a rural area so our library is quite small. The librarians are wonderful friends and they are expanding the collection as they can but there are limits on space and funds. We are in a neighboring HUGE city 2 - 3 times a week. There are over a dozen libraries in their system, some of them several stories. Through them we have access to almost any book, DVD etc that we might want or need. Because we are out of county we pay $40 a year for a card. That gains us full access. For us it's been more than worth the price.

[energy2c]

Im wondering if the huge fee, in my case anyway, is tied to the fact that I live in a hcol area and the other city is a hcol area as well. If you live in smaller towns and counties I would assume the need for low/no fee interlibrary use is a must if they have small libraries.

[Elfknitter.#]

Public libraries are financed through local property taxes. All the public libraries I am familiar with are free for residents of the city or county, because residents pay for it via their taxes. The libraries charge non-residents a fee, because they do not contribute through taxes.

 

This.

[Matryoshka]

As was mentioned above...your library is funded through your taxes...you you are paying you just didn't know it ;)

 

People who pay a fee for libraries still pay taxes, but don't get the service.  That's a red herring.  It's like saying a regular highway costs me the same as a toll road because I'm still paying for upkeep on the free highway with my taxes. 

 

IMHO, a free library is an excellent use of tax dollars, making access to books and all other library services free to all, not just those who can pay extra. Also made me feel good about paying my taxes all those years where I wasn't making use of the public school system!

 

[KarenNC]

We have 3 library cards:

1) the library system for our county, no fee other than property taxes, includes 4 branches (though 2 are tiny) and I can have any item from any of them sent to my closest library. ILL was dropped when the recession hit and I don't think has been reinstated. Selection is slowly improving. Our branch is open 4 days a week (M-Th) and a few hours on Saturday (which is new), another the same (an expansion from 3 days a week), and the main two branches are now open all day Sat rather than alternating being open on Sat. All are closed Friday and Sunday.

2) the library at the local state university, with full borrowing privileges, which is free for us because my husband is an alumnus. Otherwise it would be $100 a year for a state resident. My husband is the primary user of this because I find it inconvenient.

3) the library system in the next county, which is the largest city in the state. My husband works within walking distance of a branch twice a week, so we put books on hold online and he picks them up and drops them back. Fee is now $45 a year for non-county residents, but we lucked out and bought a lifetime out of county card when we moved in 2005 for $100 (yearly fee at the time was $25), and were very happy we did so when they ended that option and raised the costs several times since then. This covers a library card for each member of the household, which expands our on hold option from 20 to 60 at a time. Since popular and new books can have very long wait lists, which ties up hold slots, that's a big help. The only things we can't easily access that they provide are extended checkout for educators (in-county teachers only) and dvds. The checkout time on most dvds is so short and the overdue fines higher ($1 a day) that we often can't get it, watch it and get it back on time with our schedule. ILL is available, but may have a fee (we use it irregularly). We regularly use their in-person programs (no card or fee required) because they have a much greater variety and there are several branches (they have 20) that are convenient to us depending on where we are that day.  Their regional branches are open 7 days a week (limited hours on Sunday), many are open 6 (no Sun) and the smaller branches are closed on Sun and Thursday. They also have a huge manga collection, which thrills my daughter. We are often actually closer to a branch of this library in our weekly routine than to the larger branch of our county library.

 

Most of the online resources from the county libraries actually comes from the state, so it doesn't matter which county library card we use them from.

[KarenNC]

Our library system is based on the counties in my state. There are 3 counties in my state and so 3 library systems. My counties library system has 15 libraries in it and I a free library card that allows me to use/take things out of any of those libraries.  I can either go to that library myself or request that they ship the books I want to my local library and contact me when they are in.  The online database lists ALL the books available in all 15 libraries and all the books in the other 2 counties in our state.  We can request books from the other counties also (not considered interlibrary loan.)  We can also request books using interlibrary loan which they will find the book you want and have it shipped to your library.  I've had books shipped from halfway across the country.  

 

I suspect if I want to get a card for one of the other county library systems I may have to pay a fee but I don't need to since they share their books with our county.

 

Wow, only 3 counties in the entire state? We have 100, each with its own separate library system.

[Matryoshka]

Im wondering if the huge fee, in my case anyway, is tied to the fact that I live in a hcol area and the other city is a hcol area as well. If you live in smaller towns and counties I would assume the need for low/no fee interlibrary use is a must if they have small libraries.

 

I live in one of the highest COL parts of the country.  It's also one of the most densely populated parts of the country.  I'm the one with all the awesome free library services. My town doesn't even charge fines.  I'm wondering if it may have something to do that this state had the first free (taxpayer funded) circulating library in the country?  We love our books! :D

 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

We live in a small town with a small library. There is no fee to use it and if I can't find something at my library I can easily get it through ILL for no charge. As long as I have a card for my town's library, I can get additional cards for any other library in the state, all free of charge. My local library has a limit of 25 items out at a time but if you homeschool they'll raise your limit to 75! Also, I've returned several things late recently and haven't been charged a fine. I'm not sure if they just don't or if they're just being nice to me. :-) I've thought about going to the larger libraries in the next towns over but or library is less than 5 minutes away and always get in the books I've ordered in just a couple of days so it's really quite convenient. I can't imagine having to pay a yearly fee. I've never heard of that until these boards.

[JustEm]

Wow, only 3 counties in the entire state? We have 100, each with its own separate library system.

yep,  Delaware is quite tiny :) 

[bttrflyvld]

I live in a city that doesn't have a library, so we have to pay to get a card for the library in the next town. Its a small library and costs $30 a year. Their selection is bad though.

[Library Momma]

I can use my library card and check out books at any other public library in my state or I can use the ILL for free.  Our state does not have county governments so the library system is state wide.   My town library also does not charge fees, but other libraries in the state do.

[ErinE]

At one time, we lived near the border of a large city/county and the annual fee for the family was $40. The library had better books and was essentially equidistant to our "local" branch. So we paid the fee, and I consider it money well spent.

 

Our last move was to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the US. The suburban county we lived in had lending privileges to the city as well as other surrounding counties. It was an excellent system and there was no fee.

[RootAnn]

Im wondering if the huge fee, in my case anyway, is tied to the fact that I live in a hcol area and the other city is a hcol area as well. If you live in smaller towns and counties I would assume the need for low/no fee interlibrary use is a must if they have small libraries.

 

Didn't know what "hcol" was until Matryoshka's post (thanks!). Our current state is probably one of the lower cost of living ones (although the local real estate goes for big $$ compared to a couple of towns over & our property taxes & utilities are not as low as they should be). I live in a little town with a small library with other little towns around us at a decent distance who sometimes also have small libraries (or no libraries). 

 

But I would guess that most residents of the town don't use the library or use it only for the computer access. 

[laundrycrisis]

Here, libraries are funded by property taxes.  People who live in unincorporated areas, where the owner of the property is not paying any taxes that support any library, have to pay a fee to get a library card to be able to check things out.  If you own a home in an unincorporated area, the annual fee for a library card is based on the real estate value of the home, so if it is a high-value house, it will cost a lot to get the library card.  This is because they are collecting what your library taxes would have been if the house was in an incorporated area.  I have no idea how they come up with the cost for a person who rents a dwelling in an unincorporated area. Once you have a library card for your closest library, there is a reciprocal agreement between most library districts that will allow you to borrow through inter-library loan or get a non-resident card at another library without paying a huge fee.  But they want to make sure you are paying taxes or the fee to your local library before you can do that.

[Shellydon]

I live on the edge of one county and have free use of that library system.  We spend more time in the next county/town, so I pay $50.00 per year to use their library.

[Sherry in OH]

Im wondering if the huge fee, in my case anyway, is tied to the fact that I live in a hcol area and the other city is a hcol area as well. If you live in smaller towns and counties I would assume the need for low/no fee interlibrary use is a must if they have small libraries.

 

 

I think it has more to do with how your library is funded. In Ohio, a percentage of state tax revenues go the state public library fund.   All public libraries in the state receive money from this fund.  Thus all taxpayers fund all of the public libraries and may use any of them.     

 

My small public library does not offer ILL.  It does however belong to a consortia which includes a major metropolitan library.  The majority of the books I borrow belong to other libraries in the consortia.  I love having access to a large library collection without having to drive into the city to pick up and return the materials.  

[Clear Creek]

We are not residents of the town where the nearest library is located, so we have to pay an annual fee to get a library card ($10/yr).  The library offers ILL, but for a fee...it is usually cheaper to just buy the book on Amazon.

[Matryoshka]

I'm not sure exactly how our library is funded - I know through local taxes, not sure if there's some statewide addition.  I think they may because I think I've heard them reference that one reason they love homeschoolers is that they keep their circulation numbers up, so I'm thinking maybe there's some kind of extra funding based on their circulation numbers???

 

I do know most libraries around here have a very healthy volunteer run Friends of the Library group that does a lot of extra fundraising, organizes book sales, etc.  I think that adds a lot of extra funds to the library.  Do other places have Friends of the Library groups?

[Arcadia]

 

I do know most libraries around here have a very healthy volunteer run Friends of the Library group that does a lot of extra fundraising, organizes book sales, etc.  I think that adds a lot of extra funds to the library.  Do other places have Friends of the Library groups?

I know circulation numbers help keep the library doors open more than getting any extra funding.  Its like if there is a proposal to cut library hours due to budget, the library in the system with the lowest circulation number tend to get the most hours cut.

 

All the libraries we go to have Friends of the Library and some have a Friends of the Library shop inside the library. They sell used books, new finger puppets, stationary, trinkets and seasonal non-food stuff.

[leeannpal]

The public libraries in Florida are definitely part of the reason I like living here. I lived in Goergia for several years in a county with a small population. There was one pitiful library in the county. If I wanted a library card in other counties, I had to pay a fee and drive quite a way. Now, I also live in a rural county in Florida, but the county had 6 libraries as part of their system, none more than a 25 mile drive. I also live in a town that is part of two counties, so I get library privileges in the other county for free. That gives me access to about 8 more libraries with one only 6 miles away. We definitely use the libraries a lot more in Florida than we did in Georgia.

[dirty ethel rackham]

In our state, libraries cards are free to residents of the issuing town if they live within the taxing district's borders.  Several people in our town have a mailing address for our town, but are unincorporated, meaning that they don't pay taxes to the town, and thus, do not have many of the town services (garbage pick up, water - on well/septic, library, etc.)  They have county services.  We have reciprocal agreements for people who have cards from other towns in their consortium.  If you don't live within a taxing district for a library, you have to pay a yearly fee.  So, you pay for your library one way or another ... either through taxes or with a fee. 

 

reciprocal borrowers in our area do not have full privileges - they can't check out DVDs, audio books or computer programs.  Plus, they can't renew items. 

[*Alyssa*]

As long as you are a resident of the city/town, you can get a library card, paid for by your taxes.  Everywhere I've ever lived, that's how it is.  However, my local city hardly ever has what I want, so I pay $35/year to have a library card from another local city.

[PeachyDoodle]

We live in a rural county, but I'm pleased with our library system. All county residents can get a card for free and have access to any of the (I think six) branches. I can search the catalog and place a hold online and have those books delivered to the branch closest to me for pick-up. I love that!

 

We also have privileges at the library in the city closest to us (different county). It's not a huge library, but bigger than any of the ones in our county. We pay $40/year for it, but it's well worth it. Between the two systems, I feel like we have access to as many things as libraries in bigger cities. I very rarely have to purchase books (aside from curriculum) because most anything I want is available from one of the two. We can check out up to 50 items per card at each of the systems, so we don't max out!

 

I was disappointed when I contacted the university library at my alma mater a couple of years ago and found that they charged a pretty substantial fee for non-students, even alumni. :thumbdown: It's about 45 minutes away, so not super convenient, but dh works nearby and could pick up and return for me occasionally. Bummer. My dad had a free card at the university where he got his MBA, and it was great, especially for high school.

 

[Matryoshka]

In our state, libraries cards are free to residents of the issuing town if they live within the taxing district's borders.  Several people in our town have a mailing address for our town, but are unincorporated, meaning that they don't pay taxes to the town, and thus, do not have many of the town services (garbage pick up, water - on well/septic, library, etc.)  They have county services.

 

I know most of the country has big wide open "unincorporated" spaces, but here in the densely populated northeast, it is still hard to wrap my mind around this "not in a town, just the county" thing.  Here all the towns touch each other.  The county includes many contiguous towns.  There's no inbetween spaces.  If I leave my town, I'm in a different town.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I know most of the country has big wide open "unincorporated" spaces, but here in the densely populated northeast, it is still hard to wrap my mind around this "not in a town, just the county" thing.  Here all the towns touch each other.  The county includes many contiguous towns.  There's no inbetween spaces.  If I leave my town, I'm in a different town.

 

Actually, I live in "built-out" suburbia.  There are pockets of town that are not incorporated.  When they were developed, they never chose to incorporate, so they are these little islands of "rugged independence" that look just like the rest of suburbia, only larger lots to support well/septic. 

 

[Mergath]

Our library is funded with taxes.  The library system covers, I think, six counties, and anyone who lives within the system can get a card for free and use any library within the system.  (The cards may work for any library in the state- I vaguely remember getting some books at the library when I visited Duluth, but I can't say for sure.)  We have free ILL and can request books from any library in the state.

[Mergath]

I know most of the country has big wide open "unincorporated" spaces, but here in the densely populated northeast, it is still hard to wrap my mind around this "not in a town, just the county" thing.  Here all the towns touch each other.  The county includes many contiguous towns.  There's no inbetween spaces.  If I leave my town, I'm in a different town.

 

That must be so strange!  In the part of MN I live in, it's not uncommon for there to be twenty or thirty miles of completely undeveloped forest between different towns.