Quote:
Originally Posted by rdfry
Bad idea and bad precedent. i already pay for my local and area as well as all the rest of the public libraries in the state.
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Precedents abound in the US. We pay taxes for roads and yet we still get hit with user fees for toll roads and bridges. We pay taxes for National Parks and still have to pay admission to use them.
And why do we pay these user fees? Because taxes don't cover the entire cost to build, maintain, and operate these services.
Should we have to pay a fee to access ebooks in a public library?
Should we have to pay a toll to access public bridges on a public road?
Should we have to pay an entrance fee to access a public National Park?
Whether we like it or not, the precedent for paying user fees to access public facilities already exists; and libraries aren't any more sacred than public parks.
We have tough choices ahead in these bad economic times. We can take an absolutist position and proclaim no user fees ever for public libraries; while they slowly deteriorate from poor funding. Or, we can take a proactive stance and consider implementing user fees to bolster diminishing taxes.