On Friday, August 19, 2005, at 09:42 AM, Aaron Street wrote:
An off-the-cuff idea for raising more money for libraries:
I recognize that the beauty of a public library is that it provides
free
access to information to the public. But what about exploring some
sort of
"suggested contribution" program where people checking out books are
asked
(verbally, or by a donation box, or on a bookmark) to contribute a
suggested
amount - let's say $1.00 per book.
Alan Hooker's idea of a dedicated license plate is better, I think. I
put forward this idea before Kit Hadley came on board and it was met
with very little enthusiasm, to put it politely. Nevertheless, Alan's
idea is a good one and should be given a better chance now that we have
a new team on board and new ideas are being generated.
I don't like a volunteer fee at the point of borrowing because free
public libraries should remain free to all. There may be some room for
rentals of very new media or something like that, but that is a dying
market and probably not feasible.
On the other hand, fees for special services is feasible. I promoted
the idea of volunteers in the business and foundation center areas. I
even volunteered to help set it up and work for it (for free).
"Customers" who need special help will have fee-based access to experts
who can guide them individually or in small groups to complete their
research. This is not a big money maker but it will contribute to use
of the collections, traffic into the new Central, and added value to
what the library already offers.
Best wishes,
Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock
Candidate for Minneapolis Library Board of Trustees
DFL and Labor endorsed
Minneapolis, MN
612-387-4915
www.laurawatermanwittstock.com
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
Wittstock for Library Committee
913 19th Avenue SE, Mpls, 55414
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