Salvete!


> Libraries charge to lend books. 

    Some, by no means all. It's also generally limited to newer materials. It's universally stupid to do this, in my opinion. The folks that can pay are already buying copies, and we're hurting the patrons that can't pay.

> Late fines are almost universal, and lost
> items will result in a charge for replacement costs.

    What are we getting for our charges? Is this go away mentality worth it? Is this helping or hurting us in the relevancy arena? It's definitely hurting in the fundraising department, which is precisely where it's meant to help. Every budget I've seen has not netted enough in charging for extras to offset the actual costs they're seeking to cover. So with that in mind, why are we doing this? Our patrons rightfully see these as nuisance fees. If we're doing it to avoid abuse, which is why I assume a lot of these are implemented, there are usually better ways to go about that.

Cheers,
Brooke