Why would you pay to join a library? All the library branches I've joined in London were free to join. You only pay to replace a card if you've lost it.
We are forced to pay for the library through our property taxes. (It ranges from $100/year to almost $1000/year depending on what your home value/assessment).
In my local library you gotta pay about 5€ per year, and also you pay when you forget to return a book in time. I understand why, the return money is obviously a way to make people return books in time and the other part is imo because the library has a pretty neat online book search and reservation system and they gotta maintain the servers somehow. Also the library I visit is a scientific library (I borrow textbooks and such) so maybe it's different from a "regular" library, I really don't know.
Libraries are some of the only public spaces left where people can get out of the elements and spend as much time as they like inside without having to buy anything. And they can access the internet or read books. Libraries also often have free classes/programs like drawing/CV writing/interview techniques/CPR training/etc that are available to people who might not otherwise have access to these things. So definitely support your local libraries!
Comments