# How Much Would You Pay For Your Library Card? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421 "2010-06-24T23:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/41 "2010-06-27T02:47:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If you had paperback books and they were listed as hardcovers, yeah, that’s a little weird. However, it’s not their fault you lost them, and they were right to charge you the cost of the books, as well as the late fees you incurred. Blaming the library for your own lack of responsibility is ridiculous. > > :rolleyes: I’m not mad about them charging me for the books. I’m mad about how much and how they charged me. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/42 "2010-06-27T03:58:36Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > I’m not mad about them charging me for the books. I’m mad about how much and how they charged me. A lot of people don’t realize this, but getting a book on the shelves does cost the library more than just the price of the book. There’s also the staff time involved in ordering, processing, and cataloging the book. Even if you’re just replacing a lost book then if it’s not exactly the same edition the catalog record will have to be updated. Some libraries tack a sort of “restocking fee” onto the cost of a replacement copy, and others just charge a flat fee for all replacements regardless of the actual cost of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/43 "2010-06-27T12:06:11Z")
Not to mention that quite often a book is way the hell and gone out of print. We’d always rather have the books back. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/44 "2010-06-27T12:17:29Z")
It’s free for anyone with a fixed address, here in Manchester, England. If you lose your piece of plastic, you are charged £1.60 for a replacement. As to how much I’d pay if it was necessary… I pay a £1 a day for my internet access, so I’d happily pay a £1 a week for access to a library’s contents. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/45 "2010-06-27T12:31:15Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > I’m not mad about them charging me for the books. I’m mad about how much and how they charged me. How many books did you lose? $200 doesn’t go very far in book buying these days. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/46 "2010-06-27T13:30:07Z")
I haven’t had a library card of any sort for over 25 years. Haven’t missed it a bit. So the answer to the OP would be: $0.00. ---
**Author:** ![dug313](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@dug313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dug313)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/47 "2010-06-28T14:10:45Z")
I’d pay at least $100 for mine, more if I needed. Libraries are a wonderful thing and I love going. My wife and I just got back from a week at the beach, we both took several books from our library with us. It is great to be able to have access to so many books for free. ---
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/48 "2010-06-28T14:31:53Z")
According to my property tax bill, my library card costs about $250/year. Although my wife has one too, so it’s more like $125 for each. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/49 "2010-06-28T14:56:24Z")
I haven’t been inside a library in 7 years and I only have been 3 times in the last decade. I wouldn’t spend any money for a library card but I have spend a fortune building my personal library so that I can loan books to friends and have a large selection to choose from any time I want. ---
**Author:** ![nocojoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@nocojoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocojoe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/50 "2010-06-28T15:14:50Z")
I live an hour north of Denver. And if I lived in Denver I would share the OPs sentiment about paying maybe $100 a year for access to the library. But I live in a much smaller town and the library here doesn’t suit my needs well enough, so I can’t say the same about my home town library. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/51 "2010-06-28T15:29:01Z")
I am willing to pay up to 20% more on my property taxes than I am currently being charged, to preserve current services and reinstate some services that have been reduced, including reinstating some of the hours at the public library branch closest to my house. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/52 "2010-06-29T03:22:47Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > I belong to a private library. The yearly fee is $225 which I consider a bargain given how much I use their services. I would drop 10x that in a heartbeat to be a member…it’s a barrier between me and all the hygienically challenged people who populate public libraries. Ha! I’ll never understand how people at the library smell so badly. I interned at my city library last summer, in two branches. My question to you is, what’s a private library? Can you describe yours or explain the basics of it? I’m intrigued. As for the OP, I’d pay $12/month. It’s what I pay for Netflix, and it’s what I’d pay for the library. So, $144 a year. I’d be upset if I had to pay it all upfront; if it were a monthly thing, that’d be fine by me. I’d pay more except now that I’ve seen how the place is run (great in some departments, but mostly utter and total wastefulness in others) I know they could cut back greatly on staff and salaries without cutting back hours - which is always the first thing threatened. Like how cutting back city taxes immediatley results in less firemen and police :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/53 "2010-06-29T04:31:54Z")
[Here’s](http://www.milibrary.org/index.html) an example of a private library (membership is open to whoever wants to pay). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/54 "2010-06-29T04:49:51Z")
The wife and I belong to the private [Neilson Hays Library](http://www.neilsonhayslibrary.com/) in Bangkok. Our joint membership costs us 3300 baht per year, which at the present exchange rate is US$102. But this is a bargain when you consider how expensive books are in Thailand. They’re considered a luxury item and priced accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/55 "2010-06-29T05:26:27Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Ha! I’ll never understand how people at the library smell so badly. I interned at my city library last summer, in two branches. My question to you is, what’s a private library? Can you describe yours or explain the basics of it? I’m intrigued. Not much difference beyond mine has a yearly membership fee and the public libraries by me don’t. The reason why this particular library is so important to me is I do a ton of freelance stuff and will often spend entire days there. The bathrooms are immaculate and I can leave my laptop or whatever else I have with me at my carrel, do whatever I want (go into stacks, go out for coffee) and all my stuff will still be there even if I return hours later. The staff are also absolute nazis about cell phones. Once you enter, your phone is off or you’re going to hear about it. None of these things are possible at my branches of the public library. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/56 "2010-06-29T15:15:46Z")
Huh, very interesting. I can understand why both you and **Siam Sam** would want to belong to one. Sadly enough, the library of the university I graduated from has a nickname - “Club Hillman” - because it literally is like a club-type atmosphere. People walk around and talk at full volume about what they’re doing Friday night. I always went to the city library instead (across the street) because things were always kept at a respectable volume. Not that I’d leave my stuff unattended, of course. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/57 "2010-06-29T16:05:41Z")
My public library is open 69 hours a week and the branch in the next town over is open 61. The fines for books are $.10/day. They’ve recently had to cut back a little on their acquisitions, though. Previously, if you wanted a book that wasn’t in the collection, you could ask for it and most times they’d buy it and add it to the collection. They seem well-staffed, but I think they have a lot of volunteers doing shelving and such. I’d pay $100/yr to belong. StG ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/58 "2010-06-29T16:26:32Z")
Given how many books I check out in a year, $100 would be a bargain. I would certainly pay $20 or $30 per month for the privilege if I had to. I don’t know what percentage of my property taxes goes to support the library, but we recently passed a tax levy that increased the amount so that hours can be restored and a closed branch reopened. When I moved from a big city to Chillicothe, Ohio ten years ago, I was concerned that I would be dissatisfied with the library. I was pleasantly surprised to see the size and breadth of their collection. They will also borrow books from other Ohio libraries if I ask, and the whole multi-library catalog is available online, so I can reserve books online and see what’s checked-in locally from home. I love my library.🙂 ETA: It is open 65 hours per week right now. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421/59 "2010-06-29T18:59:45Z")
Where I live, you do get charged for a library card, based on your property taxes. For our household, it’s about $200/year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-you-pay-for-your-library-card/544421.md?page=2)