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
