Champaign library to charge Tolono, Mahomet users $200
CHAMPAIGN – On a tight budget, library officials are hoping to send some nonresident patrons "back to their home libraries" and lessen the burden on the collection of materials by charging them to check out books in Champaign.
Beginning Nov. 1, residents of the Tolono and Mahomet library districts, who previously were able to use their library cards for free in Champaign, will now be asked to pay $200 annually if they want to continue borrowing items from the Champaign Public Library.
Library Director Marsha Grove said Tolono and Mahomet residents are among the heaviest users of the Champaign library – a situation that has become particularly burdensome on the collection in a tight budget year.
"The major problem is that so many of their (Tolono's and Mahomet's) cardholders are coming here and somewhat using it as their own home library," Grove said.
Mahomet Public Library Director Lynn Schmit said she was disappointed in Champaign's decision, but it will not affect the libraries' relationship.
"We have to take care of our taxpayers, and that's what Champaign has decided they need to do," Schmit said.
Janet Cler, director of the Tolono library, was also disappointed.
"It is an unfortunate situation," she said. "For our patrons, we're here to serve them the best we can."
Cler and Schmit said both of their libraries will continue to serve Champaign cardholders for free.
"We are here to serve the residents of the community, and we have some Champaign cardholders that come down and use our library, and we're fine with that," Cler said.
According to a press release from the Champaign library on Tuesday, Tolono residents borrowed 17 items in Champaign for every 10 they checked out at their own library – a total of 167,259 Champaign materials during the last fiscal year. Mahomet residents checked out eight items in Champaign for every 10 they checked out in Mahomet, a total of 86,050 items.
"It's been going on for a long time, and we decided we needed to restrict those cardholders," Grove said.
The $200 annual fee is based on what an average Champaign homeowner pays in property taxes to support the public library. The special cards will be available for purchase beginning Oct. 4, in advance of the Nov. 1 effective date.
Cardholders of area libraries other than those in Mahomet and Tolono will still be allowed to use their home library cards for free in Champaign. Patrons of the Urbana Free Library, part of the Lincoln Trails Library System that connects many libraries in the region, will be unaffected.
Grove said the library board considered an across-the-board fee for the other cardholders, too, but eventually decided that those users did not have as much of an impact as patrons from Mahomet and Tolono.
The Champaign library also will cut off free deliveries to Mahomet and Tolono. Anyone wishing to check out a book from Champaign's collection via the interlibrary loan system will have to purchase the special Champaign card.
"If we allowed that to go on, it would be even more work for us," Grove said.
Champaign library officials are not sure what to expect before the rule goes into effect – it could add revenue to the library's budget, or "maybe most of the people will just go back and use their home library in Mahomet and Tolono," Grove said.
Kenney Davenport works in Champaign, a 1 1/2-minute drive from the library, but lives in the Mahomet library district. Now 36 years old, he said he has not stepped into the Mahomet library since he was a kid.
"I will not be paying $200 a year to use the library," Davenport said.
Davenport said he checks out music and guitar books and CDs from the Champaign Public Library, and is not confident he will be able to find what he is looking for in Mahomet.
"It's a minute and a half from my office, and obviously it's a lot bigger, they have a coffee shop and it's a nice facility," Davenport said.
Jennifer Price, a Tolono resident, said she uses the Champaign library nearly every week during the winter. She usually goes on Sundays, when the Tolono Public Library is not open.
"I think it's a load of crap," Price said.
She checks out books, video games and CDs from Champaign, and rarely uses the Tolono library. She said she has not yet decided if she will pay $200 for a special Champaign card.
"I thought being part of the Lincoln Trail Libraries System meant you could use your card anywhere," she said. "I don't think it's fair."
Cler said she expects Champaign's decision will bring more residents of the Tolono Public Library district to their own library. She said the library has made several changes during the past year to serve its patrons better, like extending hours, adding a Blu-Ray video collection and setting up an online "virtual library."
"We're continuing to build our resources, and we're in the process of a long-range plan that's been going on for a while now," Cler said.
Mahomet's Schmit said she expects some patrons will be disappointed, "but it's understandable" that Champaign would charge for services as its budget tightens.
"We're going to continue to do what we've done for years, and that's taking care of the needs of our library patrons," Schmit said.
MoreNext up: Urbana. The Urbana Free Library is burdened even more heavily by out of town users. It considered doing something like this a while ago, and perhaps in the current economic setting this is the time to do it.
Much of the burden of both cities is caused by out of towners using facilities paid for by Champaign or Urbana taxpayers. Over half the users of Crystal Lake are from out of town. More than half the use of both libraries is from out of town. More than half the use of our streets is from out of town. Imagine how much nicer things would be if out of towners weren't putting wear and tear on things for which they do not pay.
Many places give local residents cards and auto stickers to allow them free use of the things they support, but charge those who don't pay local taxes. And this usually helps build much nicer facilities. I look forward to a better collection in the Champaign Library now that funds can go to acquisitions. All users will pay to use it, which is what the free market demands. (Wonder if any of the freeloaders are tea-partiers? If so, their hypocrisy is beyond belief.)
This war started along time ago when a previous director of Urbana Free Library started treating Urbana patrons preferentially when UFL would not send out "new" materials through interlibrary loan in violation of then current Lincoln Trail policy. He was not called on it by the system, Lincoln Trail.
When Ms. Grove became the director of CPL, she adopted a similar policy on new material interlibrary loan. Since then, more and more libraries are adopting a restrictive policy, one of which is Mattoon Public Library.
The default setting for interlibrary loans is that when a patron places a hold on an item, the patron goes to the top of list for items that the library owns. So preferential treatment is inherent into the interlibrary loan system already.
Which bring me back to Champaign Public Library. CPL has traditionally been a net borrower, which means that borrow more books through interlibrary loan than they loan out. So if they left the Lincoln Trail system, CPL would have trouble serving their patrons needs in-house.
So if you are not happy with CPLs decision, here is the most effective way to let the people who make decisions know. While Ms. Grove is the director of CPL, she is not the boss. Ms. Grove answers to the library board. The board looks to the director for expert advice but the board makes the final decision on policy. So I imagine the Champaign Library Board decided to restrict Tolono and Mahomet patrons on Ms. Groves’s advice. So I advise you to attend the next CPL board meeting, Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 5:30pm, to voice your opinion. To be recognized at the meeting, call (217) 403-2050 and ask to be put on the agenda.
I do not agree with CPLs decisions and the movement in general of the Lincoln Trail member libraries towards preferentially treatment of their own patrons to the exclusion of others. In a time of crisis, people can either band to together and share their resource for the good of all or hoard their own resources to the detriment of all but you own exclusive group. Taking care of your own is deciding not take care of others.
-Eric Rittman
From what source do you find statistics that say "more than half" of C-U library users and users of city streets are from out of town?
I'm also confused if you live in Urbana or Champaign? You're worried about Crystal Lake Pool and the Urbana Library, but you're looking foward to the "better collection" in the Champaign Library. Could it be that you live in one town, and would dare use the services of another? Oh my word.
It's a pretty crappy way to make a few dollars. It's not like these patrons don't have a home library or or live in an area outside a library district. They pay taxes for use of their library and the library system. Champaign is planning to charge them as if they don't pay for the usage of their home library. Why not a lower fee for patrons of other libraries, or a "per checkout" fee of a dollor or two. I am a big user of my library, but there would be no way I'd see the value in $200 paid on top of the taxes I ALREADY pay for my home library. It's extortion.
Mahomet and Tolono library users can request materials to be sent for free to their home libraries. They can continue to use Champaign's library, find what they are looking for, and use the computer to request it shipped to their home library for free. They may have to way a few days, but they can save themselves from being robbed by the money grubbers in the big bad library. In fact, I will start requesting more materials sent to my library that are only available at the Champaign library, and cause the library staff there to spend more hours filling transfer requests.
That won't work, direct from the CPL website.
Can I still reserve Champaign items and pick them up at my home library?
You will not be able to use your Mahomet or Tolono card to put Champaign items on hold.
This isn't a money making measure, libraries are suffering across the country. Read the news. Some restrictions have be put on heavy usage. Being in the Lincoln Trails System cannot be used as an excuse as effectively some patrons have been replacing their home libraries with Champaign. It is simply unfair to those Champaign patrons who pay around $200 on their property tax, if not more.
Given our current economy, it is important to understand that services like a library take money to maintain. Champaign residents pay for this service through taxes while Tolono and Mahomet residents do not. What is hard to understand about this? It is hard to swallow but it is a fact of life.
Mahomet and Tolono residents also pay taxes which support the libraries in their communities. Champaign residents check out books from those collections without paying any fees because they pay taxes in Champaign. That is how an inter-library loan system works.
Even in the best economy no library can afford to keep a complete collection. That is why LTLS, and serves like it all over the country, exists.
Thank you for such a wonderful idea! I am a librarian in a small school district with a budget running into the hundreds and we rarely have current titles on the shelf because they are out on inter-library loan to (gasp) Champaign library patrons. Think of all the money I could bring into my school if I started charging those Champaign library patrons.
And I agree with your original statement about Champaign not sending out books. Many a time I have had a book on request from Champaign for weeks, only to go into the actual library and see it sitting on their shelf. They think they are the engine that runs Lincoln Trail, but they are sorely mistaken. I say it's time Lincoln Trail just booted them out. Champaign library consumes instead of shares.
"The Champaign library also will cut off free deliveries to Mahomet and Tolono. Anyone wishing to check out a book from Champaign's collection via the interlibrary loan system will have to purchase the special Champaign card."
Isn't this services run by LTLS? If they are unwilling to work with all of the member libraries can they retain their membership?
I doubt the membership will be effected. From the CPL website.
"Library systems were designed to have member libraries share with each other so that everyone benefits. When there is a significant imbalance in that mutual lending, a member library can limit access to its own materials. This policy affects only your use of the Champaign library; your home library card can still be used at other system libraries."
Several points:
The Champaign Library has done this for years for people on the edges of Champaign that haven't been incorporated yet (southwest Champaign). We bought all of our children's books at Pages when it was open, and had a nice collection, some of which we later donated to another library system.
I would be very surprised if the libraries true budget were $200 per family in Champaign.
I think both Tolono and Mahomet should institute a $200 per family charge for anyone from Champaign wishing to check out a books for our library system. Fair is fair.
Finally, instead of spending that $200 in Champaign, buy books, enjoy them, and then donate them to Tolono and Mahomet.
I'm never setting foot in the Champaign Library again.
I think what this article fails to address is where the people who have library cards issued by the Tolono library actually live. I bet the majority do not live in Tolono.
Residents of Savoy have been able to get a library card for free in Tolono and use it at the Champaign library. I would be interested to see a study showing where the "Tolono" patrons actually live.
It seems to me that many residents of Savoy want the resources that Champaign offers (bus service, library, etc.) but are not willing to pay their portion of the taxes to help maintain them.
"It seems to me that many residents of Savoy want the resources that Champaign offers (bus service, library, etc.) but are not willing to pay their portion of the taxes to help maintain them."
And there's the kicker. Savoy residents are getting away with not paying their fair share. If you use CPL, then you should pay for the CPL. But...instead, they pay lower taxes to a library they never intend to use and Champaign residents foot the bill. That's freeloading.
If Savoy residents want to use the CPL, then they should talk to their city council about joining the Champaign Library district instead of paying into the Tolono library district.
I would not mind paying a out of residence per use fee. For me, that would be far less than 200.00 because I am only an occasional user. Similar to the pools, you can pay standard admission, punch card, or a pass, which is higher for non-resident. Someone who is a frequent user pay the user fee. This also should be for all non-residents, not just two. This also should go two ways, and if the CPL residents need a book from other libraries, they pay a fee.
Savoy residents paid to have membership in the Lincoln Trail Library System, which meant that we had access to use any LTLS library just like a resident with our own library card. It's not "freeloading", it's how library systems work. Now the policy has changed to allow libraries to limit reciprocal borrowing under certain circumstances.
This article and discussion made me take out my tax bill, and I pay about $30 less than this fee as a resident taxpayer living in a condo assessed at below the average home price. So it doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Nothing is free, and I'm guessing most in Mahomet can afford it. You live in an area, you get the benefits of that area. You don't, then you pay for them. Residents of Maynard Lake, Rolling Hills, etc., are also assessed fees. I have wondered for a while how the library can afford some of the services it provides. It seems that it can't. We all want stuff that's cheap or free, and imagine that someone else pays. Well, we're all that someone else.
Mahomet has just built a gorgeous library, opened earlier this summer on Rt 150, just as you enter town.
I'm sorry that Mahomet residents who have benefited from the Champaign Public Library may find the new fee there prohibitive (the more library access, the better!), but I hope you will begin to use the Mahomet Public Library more extensively and invest in its present and future. The more we invest in the Mahomet Public Library, the more useful and more enjoyable its holdings will become.
To join Friends of the Mahomet Public Library, please contact us through the MPL website. It's just $5 per year for membership and the benefits are knowing you are helping to grow your hometown library. FMPL is also always looking for volunteers for regular library needs as well as special events (you don't need to join to volunteer). We are currently seeking volunteers for our November fun run.
Kelly Searsmith
Secretary, Friends of the Mahomet Public Library
I agree the Mahomet Public Library's collections are not extensive enough to provide research resources in all areas. And the holdings do need improvement in general, despite some lovely finds there. But I have great confidence in Lynn Schmidt and her staff as curators of the collection. They'll improve it as they have funds to do so. Now that they have adequate facilities in which to work, our community can turn to helping them expand materials on hand. The more we all invest in our library in time and money, the better a resource it will be in our hometown.
I think you get what you pay for. If you choose to live in Savoy where your taxes are lower, then those are the services you should receive. With the way the state government is going these days, I wouldn't count on Lincoln Trails being around a lot longer. We had all better get used to visiting just our own home libraries.
According to minutes of the Tolono Library system, district residents pay an average of $60 a year in taxes to support the library. Champaign residents pay $200 for their's. www.tolonolibrary.org/documents/June20101.doc
Here’s the policy from Lincoln Trails: "A library which experiences an imbalance as a net lender in reciprocal borrowing may restrict access by the users of those libraries who have created a significant imbalance for the lending library. A significant imbalance is defined as a local library serving less than 60% of local borrower need.” http://www.lincolntrail.info/Policies/ResourceAccessRev07192010.pdf
I pay $113 to the library district. It seems CPL is choosing the higher housing costs to base its cost to out of district users. It also seems a hypocrisy to allow its users to borrow from Tolono and Mahomet. It also seems a bit unfair to single out Tolono and Mahomet. We try to use our local library first, but when doing research for papers, because it cannot possibly have all the material needed, we need to go to a bigger library. I would be willing to pay a per book check out fee, but not the 200.00 fee. I hope my daughters teacher's understand when she cannot find references.
I'm a resident of Savoy, and so I pay into the library system through the Tolono Public Library. The beauty of a library system is that not all communities can (or should) support a large collection that meets the needs of all residents. I feel that CPL's move is a disservice to the community.
Here are some facts, from the Lincoln Trail Library System's policies:
On interlibrary loan policies (which CPL is declaring they will no longer allow):
"Within LTLS libraries shall lend materials on the same basis as they lend materials to their own patrons"
"Libraries may not charge fees for loans of originals to other LTLS libraries"
On reciprocal borrowing:
"Lend to reciprocal borrowers all materials in any format, as generously as
possible."
"A library... may restrict access by the users of those libraries who have created a
significant imbalance for the lending library. A significant imbalance is defined as
a local library serving less than 60% of local borrower need."
Yes, Tolono users use the CPL more than their own library, but Tolono users represent a mere 6.7% of the CPL circulation numbers (though they comprise 12% the service population). From the numbers, 38% of Tolono users' needs are met in Tolono... with a collection that's 7% the size of CPL. That doesn't seem unfair.
In Savoy, we are part of the Champaign Unit 4 school district. CPL mentions in their latest annual report that their mission includes "[g]iving all children equal access to support for success in school", but now Savoy kids attending Champaign schools can't use their services. I guess when my daughter's class visits the library or bookmobile she'll have to restrain herself.
CPL is a great library, especially since moving into the new building. Small libraries, like the one in Tolono, can't compare. CPL has almost 13 times as many items in its collection, and has 24 times the annual circulation. Neither the Tolono nor Champaign library is convenient for me to go to, but CPL is better.
I understand their need to make money, and that over 91% of their budget comes from property taxes. The idea of a library system allowing reciprocal borrowing is that for the inconvenience of my drive to the library, you'll let me use your collection. I hope that the Board will consider how this could affect the community.
Additional data from librarytechnology.org - Champaign - Tolono.
It seems fairer to charge the difference between what people are paying in their home library districts and the average Champaign assessment of $200 rather than the total average Champaign assessment or, better yet, to create a sliding scale based on the individual family's financial situation. More complicated, true but considerably less regressive.
The Director of the Champaign Library says she is "taking care" of her taxpayers but is she really? She is making enemies faster than she knows and if those "small out of town" libraries get together and stop sending their items to Champaign patrons then she has done nothing but penalized them. She can not possibly meet all the lending needs of her "taxpayer" thats why her "taxpayers" use the Lincoln Trail Library system and order things from my "small out of town" library. If those resouces dry up then there will be backlash from her "taxpayer" and who will she blame that on. If this woman is so concerned about taking care of her taxpayers someone should ask her what she did with thousands of books that she deemed unsuitable for her brand new Library when it opened......Because she didn't sell them. She will be standing alone if she continues to alienate those surrounding communities who's Libraries that they pay taxes for help support her patrons needs...
Wait a minute, those sneaky out-of-towners only have to pay $200 if they check out materials. That means they can still circumvent the system by (gasp!) reading the books to their children without checking them out! I suggest removing the chairs from the children's section to put an end to this racket. And we should check I.D. at the bathrooms and water fountains to make sure that no out-of-towners get away with tapping into our water supply without paying their fair share of the utility bill. Nobody gets to use a public library without paying for it.
Do you find it odd that the Lincoln Trail Library System just modified their policies??
http://www.lincolntrail.info/boardpackets/aug2010/aug2010minutes07192010...
These are the minutes from the last board meeting changing the requirements to fit the bill.
I think Mahomet and Tolono should cut off all interlibrary loans with Champaign (non-public) Library.
The article says CPL is removing the interlibrary loans as well.
People from Tolono or Mahomet district cannot get books from CPL period. Now if you move to Monticello, you still aren't paying taxes to Champaign, but you can borrow books, ditto for Philo, Sidney, Thomasboro, Urbana, and on and on. Seems a bit odd to single two libraries out. The Lincoln Trail system is suppose to help all the libraries in the LTS district, but I guess not anymore.
I am a Tolono resident who works in downtown Champaign. I use the Champaign Library occasionaly because it has a larger collection and is conveniently located on my way to and from work. Sometimes I'll bring my wife and/or son and we'll spend some time there (and spend some money in the coffee shop, as well).
I don't really have an issue with the choice that Champaign Library is making. They need to support the Champaign residents as best as they can with the budget they have. I am sure there are a myriad of financial and political arguments for and against the new policy, but I don't pay property taxes in Champaign so I figure it's not my place to push one way or the other. At $200, the cost of a CPL card is much greater than the benefit (for me, anyhow) so I won't be purchasing one. Since I won't be using the CPL, I won't be spending $15-20 a month at the coffee shop, either. I am assuming that the CPL decision has fully considered situations like this.
My family and I will be spending more time in the Tolono Library - which is not a bad thing. I like the Tolono Library for a number of reasons - mostly because the folks who work there are super friendly and welcoming. If they don't have what I want, they'll put the powers of inter-library loan to work to find it for me. It takes a bit longer, and is probably a bit more costly to BOTH libraries, but it works. We may take some time to visit some of the other libraries that still welcome us, too, but I think we'll concentrate on trying to support our local library.
I do find it interesting, and a little sad, that when times get tough (as they are), that communities are closing up upon themselves instead of reaching out to one another. But I suppose that taking care of one's own is a natural response to these conditions.
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