Quote:
Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
For our city and funding ONLY patrons who come in count--the city does not count overdrive checkouts. It's crazy because that is a growing part of the use. The computers in my library are funded by grants--not the city budget. So some things you see in a library are not even funded by the city. Grant givers can specify how money is to be used. For example, Dell was a big grantor--duh--that is where we got out computers. A few years ago when I worked there, we got a grant that HAD to be spent on books. Not audio, not computers, not children's programs. So looking at the funding can be a very incomplete picture.
I don't quite understand why "online" visits don't count, but they don't and it's hurting the possible funding for online books.
As always, the politics involved are complicated. Stop in and ask someone why it was cancelled. It may not have had support by the City for some reason. It may have originally been funded by a grant that ran out. Or it may be that there was temporary funding to see if was going to be used.
My library has to make certain numbers to receive funding for certain areas. The library fines do not stay with the library--it goes into a city "General" fund. This means that when someone pays for a lost book, that book may not be replaced--because that money goes into a pocket somewhere and then when ordering books, it's completely up to the discretion of the librarian whether to use those funds for the same book or a different one. Our patrons often ask if they can just buy the replacement book for the one they lost (answer: No.) It's cheaper for them to buy a replacement, usually, but that's not allowed.
Every little thing is over-organized...
|
Interesting information. I've been borrowing books from my library through Overdrive since 2009 as the earliest I can remember (maybe even 2008). Our visitor and circulation rates are in the millions. The numbers look similar to surrounding suburbs. I haven't found too many specifics about where the non-city funds come from (state, private funds, corporate grants, etc).
Good suggestions. I will have to stop by my local branch and see if a librarian can offer any more details. If that doesn't yield anything, then I'll have to go by the main branch.