It must be that time of year again, as libraries battle councils feeling the money crunch.
User-pay income rise needed at the library From the Gisborne Herald
LIBRARY users could be asked to put their hands in their pockets to help maintain the service and could be called on to have their share of library costs increased to 15 or 20 percent.
Some parts that just had me steaming…
“As calls were made at the committee meeting yesterday for the H.B. Williams Memorial Library to increase its revenue, chairman Brian Wilson said he was looking at a scheme that had not been tried anywhere else in the country.”
Ok lets hear it…
“Referring to an article on the library on the front page of The Gisborne Herald Weekender last Saturday, he said the efficiency committee might have to consider holding its meetings with the public excluded to prevent people from undermining it.”
Gosh you wouldn’t want the public to have a say in how their money is spent would you…
“Mr Wilson said he and Graeme Thomson had some ideas for raising more income from the library. A fee of 50 cents to $1 for books could raise a worthwhile sum of money. Children’s books could be excluded.”
We have never seen that before… I will scurry off and see if there is any literature on that topic later today.
“Graeme Thomson said the library could be compared with sports fields, for which clubs had to pay a rental. The library had been described as the living room of the community. Many people would say Rugby Park on a Saturday afternoon was that.”
Not really. The Rugby park is the deck you use on the weekend.
“Both Mr Thomson and Mr Haisman challenged the statement that 5000 people a week visited the library, saying they had never seen it even half full.”
And words start to fail me… That is only 104 people an hour… I know how big Gisborne library is and it would be easy to have that many people in there and it to seem “half full”…
“Mr Thomson said he believed the library could use volunteers more. He had seen that done in Opotiki when he was young, Librarian Pene Walsh, who joined the meeting said the library already had 40 volunteers and was carrying out a volunteer drive.”
Poor Pene…
Where to they find these people? In caves?
words fail …
I’m flagging this one for mention on LISTen: An LISNews.org Program once we return to air on August 8th. Paying twice for something remains as bonkers as the last time I had somebody from LIANZA on to talk about the matter.