Charge people to take out certain library books

[johns]

Hi... just wanted to get some responses on this wee topic that I have never heard anyone mention ever, but I have always thought should be brought in...

By "certain" I mean fiction... I don't see why I should pay for a system that loans fictional books out for free to people...

Discuss!! nicely!!!

[Ally]

What possible distinction is there to be made from people taking out free fiction books and free non-fiction books?

[Errata]

In a perfect world sure. But at this point, I'm just thrilled when people read. At all. Non-fiction, fiction, magazines.... I get positively excited when I see someone reading a newspaper. If my neighbor lady wants to get a free mystery novel instead of constantly filtering her world through soap operas, I say more power to her.

[babybird67]

why?

libraries are already dying...if you start charging people, even fewer people would use them wouldnt they?

And I agree..why the distinction between fiction and non-fiction?

Libraries charge for CD and DVD loan. I dont know how much of their costs these charges recover. But I have feeling under the current climate libraries will be starved of funding even more. So maybe charges for books too will become inevitable.

[Ally]

This sort of mindset seems to come from an erroneous supposition that all fiction is "entertainment" and therefore worth less, and non-fiction is all "educational" and therefore of value.

Not true. Do you really think the kid taking out the Dickens, Faulkner, Crane, Austen, the Brontes, for their book report are actually after entertainment. They are all fiction.

And would not most kids rather be reading Bloody Murder on the Thames or "The really true Biography of Lindsay Lohan" Non-fiction?

The premise is flawed.

[martin wilson]

Hi all
I would like to see libraries have a Starbucks stuck on to them,like Costa Coffee does in Waterstones, I always feel very smug and booky with my cappucino.
I keep telling them down my local library to stick the withdrawn books up on amazon, I bought Watchmen off them for 20p and sold it for a fiver,but apparently there are rules and regulations preventing that sort of thing.
Its a shame though,they do a lot in the local community,and some of them are going to go as a result of cuts, any idea to keep them going is worth pursuing imho.
All the best.