I think one of the reason the costs are so high is that the homeless camp out there all day long.

SPL has been on a spending spree in building…downtown, Ballard, Broadmoor to mention a few. Do we really need more new buildings?

BTW, the Carnegie Library in Ballard was build by Carnegie funds…but each and every book in that first library was donated by the citizens of Ballard, and school kids raised the money to buy books for it.

As it happens, I believe that we can quit being a free public Video store and get back to what libraries were designed for : information available to the public. Check out NetFlix .

I tend to go to the UW libraries, because I'm sick of the homeless at Ballard and downtown. Your mileagae may vary.

Well, I think that's open to question.

On the other hand, changing would certainly improve how they smell…

Crickets chirping…………….More crickets chirping

Perhaps instead of creating more layoffs, they could consider closing for an hour per day one day a week or something similar – it would still cut costs, but would be less drastic.

Just an idea. I believe that in Oakland, they do something similar.

http://www.balcosinsurance.com

1) Nobody has to pay – I never said that. As for who they should solicit, I already answered that one.
2) I don't know the cost but can safely assume it's worth implementing. Unlike you, I'll provide some info to back that: NPR, PBS, KEXP, and thousands of museums all across the country have active marketing programs targeted at potential donors to help supplement the funding they receive from the government. Safe to assume they're all doing so because it is brings in far more funds than it costs. Personally, I'd like to see the library only reach out to individual patrons and not seek out corporate sponsors as other institutions do. Something about a sign stating “The Ballard Branch brought to you by Cupcake Royale” just seems a bit wrong (though I do love Cupcake!)

BTW, the Seattle Public Library already charges fees for certain things and it appears not have had any negative impacts despite your claims to the contrary. Examples include room rental fees, interlibrary loan fees, nonresident library card fees, equipment rental fees, and of course fines for returning items late.

Can you prove that? Do you have any info with which to back up that assertion? Do you know how many low income people visit the library? Where are you getting your information from or are you just making this up? Also SAM is free as part of First Thursdays and the Museum of Flight is free the first Thursday night of each month.

READ MY ORIGINAL POST CLOSELY! I ***NEVER*** said **everyone should be charged**. Since you're too stupid or too lazy to read my original post here is the line again:
“You could still make it free for for low-income households, students, the elderly and people who only check out a few items a year. ” What part of that are not intelligent enough to comprehend???

“The fact that charging for libraries existed BEFORE Carnegie is WHY he made his free.”

Really??? Can you prove that or is this another of your made up “facts”?? Show me some evidence that Andrew Carnegie endowed money to create public libraries specifically in order to counteract the fees charged by public libraries.

Look, you're entitled to your opinion. However, you keep making statements as though they were facts without providing any actual support to back them up.

“You can’t give a lousy $83?”

Ummmm…..I pay my taxes which means I am giving my $83. Also now that I know about the library foundation I'll be giving more.

How do you think we might determine who has to pay and who does not? What will be the cost to implement that plan?

The fact that charging for libraries existed BEFORE Carnegie is WHY he made his free. He made millions and gave a lot back. You can’t give a lousy $83? Certainly I want to go back to the ways things were in 1854 doesn't everyone? Life was so good then for so many. Nothing like a step backward..

Yes. Economists have written extensively about this. In a nutshell, higher levels of education result in lower crime and fewer taxes being spent on other social services. This in turn impacts everyone, including those without children. Sort of like how having a fire department benefits everyone even though most people never need them. That you even pose this question proves you never took even a basic class in economics?

“The idea of charging will surely close them instantly. “

Right, just like it closed SAM, the zoo, the Children's Museum, and the Museum of Flight and also took PBS, NPR, and KEXP off the air? Oh wait, that didn't happen. Care to provide a shred of evidence to back up your assertion? Also I never said charge everyone.

“Charging for library….Carnegie would spin in his grave to see the thinking of Americans today.”

No, he wouldn't. Again, you really don't what you're talking about. The Mechanics Library I belonged to in San Francisco was founded in 1854 – that's a good 20 years before Andrew Carnegie began amassing his fortune and nearly a half-century before he began giving it away. The idea of private libraries which members paid fees to belong to is hardly a new one.

The idea of charging will surely close them instantly. Basically they would no longer be a library; they would be a book store. I lived in Albuquerque for many years and used the library system there. Albuquerque is a poor city with a very low tax base yet their libraries had books that were in better shape than does Seattle. AND get this, they charged no late fees. I was shocked but was told they had experimented and found that with no fees they had more books returned and in better shape meaning they had to replace them less often.

Who knows, maybe Seattleites trash or steal books more often. All I know is three of the last four I ordered were in such bad shape I could hardly read them. One I did not even check out being worried I would be charged for trashing it. I have been disappointed in the Ballard branch. The selection is terribly limited, seems like mostly cook books and ‘ screwed up kids on drugs etc. ’ books in nonfiction and nothing but mysteries and romances in fiction. I read two or three books a week and have to order everything from other branches. (I agree there is a great system online to do this)

I moved here with 60 cartons of books and after getting rid of most of them, I only use the library. Charging for library….Carnegie would spin in his grave to see the thinking of Americans today.

http://www.foundation.spl.org/home.htm

Just click on Donate Now. After you give the first time, they will send you periodic appeals in the mail. No need to charge membership…membership is a voluntary donation!

I'd target it at patrons who are frequent users. Wouldn't be that hard for them to compile a list of people who had items checked out for at least half the year (or some similar metric) and then solicit those people. Like PBS, NPR, and KEXP they could include some sort of incentive item.

On the other hand, the library budget is just over $50 million which serves a city of ~600k. That works out to over $83 per person. That seems like a lot of money, especially considering how few people probably use the library. There's little benefit in having a library for those who don't use it, unlike public transit where drivers benefit by having fewer cars on the road (keep in mind every packed bus you see means a good 100+ cars not crowding the road you're driving down). It's also hard to argue that the library is a vital resource. Sure, there are a few people who depend on library provided internet access to look for work but that's probably a very small number. Much as I hate to see it closed for a week it's better the library than the police, fire dept, public transit, or trash pick-up.

As someone who does frequently use the library I wouldn't mind paying an annual users fee. You could still make it free for for low-income households, students, the elderly and people who only check out a few items a year. Otherwise I don't think a modest fee would be such a burden and it's certainly better than raising taxes on everyone. The idea of paying to use a library may not appeal to some but it's not that bad. In San Francisco the public library was so bad that many people paid to belong to private libraries. I happily paid $90/year to belong to the private, non-profit Mechanics Library (which is regular, general purpose library despite the name).

http://www.foundation.spl.org/home.htm

I donate a few times a year. The free books and dvds are worth every penny!