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Library Will Begin Limiting Cardholders Based on ResidencyFriday, December 10, 2010 Due to a change in policy, as of the first of February, 6,000 patrons with library cards will no longer be able to check out materials from the Williamsburg Regional Library. The library will stop honoring all cards held by those who reside outside Williamsburg, James City County and York County (about 6,000 people) due to a vote on December 1 by the library’s Board of Trustees.“The Board of Trustees took this action with great reluctance and with a deep understanding of the implications of this change for the service provision of a five-star library,” said Williamsburg Regional Library Board Chair Susan S. Geary. “However, in this current economic and political climate where the library has received budget reductions and looks at a future that is full of uncertainty, it became evident that to sustain financial support the library must restrict its circulation privileges to users who live in localities that directly fund Williamsburg Regional Library,” she said. Williamsburg and James City County have contracts with the library for service; James City County contributes more than $6 million a year to the organization and Williamsburg contributes around $800,000. York County has a memo of agreement allowing residents of upper York County to use the library in return for funding, which is just over $450,000 for fiscal year 2011. In February, the WRL's trustees decided to return almost $225,000 to James City County as a good-faith gesture when the county faced a budget shortfall of around $5 million. In June, WRL had a budget 9 percent lower than last year and reduced material purchases by 27 percent. Library Director John A. Moorman says the restriction was made “to sustain financial support,” though he wouldn’t elaborate on what support would be lost without the new policy. The 6,000 card holders who will lose their ability to check out materials are from surrounding areas like Newport News and the counties of Surry, Charles City, New Kent, Gloucester and King and Queen, according to Moorman. People from outside the Triangle can still use WRL materials in-house, can ask librarians for help, attend library events and use public computers. When asked if this sort of restriction is common in other libraries, Moorman said “libraries have a long history of reciprocity, but I think you’ll be seeing more of this” in the future. For the past three years, the WRL has been recognized as a “five star” library in the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service - the only public library in the state to achieve that top ranking and one of just 85 nationwide. When asked if the new policy would affect the ratings or accolades the library might receive in the future, Moorman said, “Who knows. It’s hard to make a guess. “Our intent is that this doesn’t affect the quality of service.” Williamsburg Regional Library consists of the James City County Library, Mobile Library Services and the Williamsburg Library and serves more than 85,000 people in the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County. If you have questions about this new policy, contact John Moorman at (757) 259-7777 or by email: jmoorman@wrl.org.
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Comments
Wow. That's never occurred to ANYONE outside of this conversation. Of course I have tried and investigated how to get my local NN libraries to be improved, and I hit a dead end each attempt, suggestion and petition. They don't even allow the libraries here to keep their late fees; they go the city general fund.
We homeschool, and this library was a gift to my kids' education. I would think you'd want to keep outsiders around. We get late fees, which we pay each time, and those collective fees have to account for some tiny portion of the overall budget. What will be the effect on the collections budget when you shut ppl out and limit your patrons?
This library is closing its doors to a great number of homeschoolers who relied on it for a resource. I think it's terrible.
It's not always about quality - for me, it's about convenience. I'm in the 'Burg from sunup to sundown and it means a lot to me to be able to run over on my lunch hour, dash in, check out a few books and still have time to grab a sandwich.
We understand, Bill.
And while we non-residents would still have access to the library, the access would be limited - we won't have borrowing privileges.
We are just trying to get the word to the powers-that-be that we are willing to pay to have full privileges at the 'Burg libraries. We're hoping that they reconsider the decision to not accept subscriptions. At the very least, give it a try for a year and see how what the response is.
Do a fast email survey and a survey of patrons as they check out books and determine what percentage of folks are willing to pay and out of that group, what they would be willing to pay and then from there, determine what an annual fee could be.
On a side note, I think they are going to miss my overdue fees :)
Maybe these non-residents, on their way to and from our library, will stop and PATRONIZE LOCAL BUSINESSES! This could only be good for our city!