Paying For Library Books-How Much Would You Afford?

A question about : Paying For Library Books-How Much Would You Afford?

Paying for library books seems a contradiction in terms but we obviously try to save as much money as we can whilst helping our kids education through reading by borrowing books. Turns out theres a secret plan to privatise or sell off libraries (Croydon Guardian) and sure enough when visiting a local city one it had all been modernised/automated. Great - but if its a choice between fancy equipment & paying for 'borrowing' i'd rather have had my old dusty, reliable , free old library! Has anyone heard anything about how they will run such privatised libraries or have any idea about what's behind it and how they are thinking of turning any kind of profit? Will they charge for borrowing library books? Or maybe run other 'services' from there? Or maybe just asset strip the sites which are possibly in high value town locations as property sales?
Books are obviously a high priority for our kids but the economy is getting to the point where theres nothing left to cut out of family budgets!

https://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/new...n_s_libraries/

Best answers:

• Middle classes need to stop voting Tory.
• Did you read the article you linked too?
  They won't be able to sell 'properties' -
  Quote:
• Did you believe them?
  Asset Strippers always say that! (as do 'modernisers' taking over factories etc promising 'no job losses' or 'natural wastage.' ) Remember the 'free schools' that had the plug pulled on them. What if the new firms say... sorry guys, we tried but your library just wasnt popular enough... time to wash our hands of it? This has happened to some leisure centres too.
  My kids don't want fancy conference centres, coffee shops in libraries - they just want to go in and borrow books to read!
• I've been paying to borrow books - my library never had the ones I wanted and the cost to get them brought in was a few quid. Went with that for the ones I couldn't really not have (courses etc).... but, as a rule, I'd not bother.
  Libraries (outside of big cities) are rarely any good anyway, nor are they open outside most working hours.
• that's interesting - I didnt think people worried about having the latest books etc, maybe because its the kids that mainly use the library for fiction (i get recipe books, travel,languages etc) I must say they are quite happy with their Malorie Blackman, terry pratchett,twilight etc - they never have a problem choosing. My daughter took a dictionary for her school trip to Italy.
• Our small-ish local library is sadly very poor these days. They seem to spend absolute fortunes buying in the latest hardbacks by popular authors then they sell off books that haven't been borrowed for three months at 10 for a pound, which just seems so wasteful to me! A family member worked there so I know this is how they do it, they are pushed for space which I do understand.
  One thing I would say they need to do is get much more into ebooks, here in Wales there is an ebooks borrowing scheme you can access via your library card but it's very limited in terms of choice, which I understand is to do with the fact that they have to buy licenses. Personally I would like to see them investing more money in these licenses as it gets round the problem of having to fit new books in small buildings. Plus, they spend piles of money on Welsh language books which all end up on the ten for a quid table almost straight away because there simply is not the demand for them.
  Anyway, rant over, I am interested to hear how others think private companies could even make a profit out of libraries?
• Ah, another 'secret plan' revealed by OP.
• Our small local libraries have been replaced by a small number of large glossy "idea stores". Books are free but there is a charge to borrow anything else. There is a posh restaurant style cafe with main meals costing around a fiver, posh coffees around Ј1.50. There are rooms which can be hired for meetings, paid for courses in everything from languages to keep fit. Not a great selection of books however!
  Oh and the lovely old libraries dotted around the borough were all sold off to property developers
• My MIL has been the librarian of her local towns small library for 25 yrs, she knows the users by name, many of them pensioners and has seen the kids growing up. Her library is a place where many of the pensioners go every day even if it's just to see a friendly face and to have a chat.
  She recently saved one old lady who had fallen down the stairs at home breaking her hip, mil noticed said lady hadn't come in on her usual day and went round to her house after work (she had been laying on the floor unable to move since the night before.)
  Mil is being made redundant next month and the library is shutting, she is devastated more so for her regulars than for her own job, she said the thought of these pensioners not having anywhere to go is awful.
• Thanks to each person that replied ! Apparently there is an update to this story which doesnt appear to have appeared on the news nationally :
  The High Court ruled last year that somerset council's decision to remove the funding to 11 libraries was unlawful.
  That authority apparently tried to take Ј1.35m with these cuts but ended up paying out Ј130,000 in local protesters legal fees,aswell as its own its own legal costsof Ј72,000. That doesnt even include the wasted work time of council staff.
  Cabinet Member David Hall just responded that "We would much rather have not had to spend Ј200,000 in legal costs and instead spent that money on frontline services, including the delivery of a sustainable future for the library service in Somerset."
  So The High Court ruled that the attempted cuts didnt comply with "public sector equality duties" owed to vulnerable social groups.
  Because of the court ruling, 11 somerset libraries managed to keep hold of their funding and four mobile libraries have now been reinstated - also the opening hours at 23 libraries were made longer so more people could access!
  Wish I'd known about this as i d like to have supported those local strivers who gave up their time, like joining a facebook protest or something or help to publicise! Anyway - Well Done Them !! No one round here can afford 'fancy services' or Ј2 coffees in this awful recession -we just want our books and learning materials!
  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20477389:
• I have only skimmed the replies but I am a Librarian and under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a free and comprehensive library service. Under the terms of the Act, core services which include book borrowing have to be free (the loan has to be free although charges can be applied for late returns). New services eg DVD loans can be charged for as they are not considered to be core library services.
  I wish more people used their library like you as that is one of the best ways to ensure that they continue to be provided.
  Hope this helps.