Hi Sarah,
Westbank here! Yes, we've developed a two-step system for out of district
members. Our no-charge service is based on TexShare. While anyone is welcome to
come in and browse and we give one hour guest passes to whoever asks for them,
TexShare members may check out up to five books (no DVDs). Out-of-district
residents can purchase a full-service membership for $100 a year or a lifetime,
very special library card, for $1,000.
Some people might find this restrictive but as Beth told a potential member
last week, it's actually a warm invitation to out-of-district members because
the fee is still only about half what it really costs to serve these families.
On the library's side, we're swamped! Our circulation hit 560,000 last year on
a collection of 67,000 items. Out-of-district folks represent a substantial
portion of our users and we've got a public responsibility to manage the budget
properly.
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa Charbonnet
PR Librarian & Reference Manager
Westbank Community Library
1309 Westbank Dr.
Austin, Texas 78746
www.westbanklibrary.com
512-314-3585
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sarah Samson
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 2:22 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ctls-l] Question for Library Districts
Hello,
Lake Travis Community Library is a library district, so we get all of our
funding through sales tax. Our board is considering charging a non-resident
fee. Do any of you charge non-resident fees for your users who are not in your
district? What led you to make that decision?
Or--if you decided not to charge a non-resident fee, why?
Thank you for any information!
Sarah Samson
--
Sarah Samson
Library Director
Lake Travis Community Library
512-263-2885
www.laketravislibrary.org
