A Sensible Way to Bring In More Money : Library System’s Plan to Raise Overdue Fines, Charge for Some Services Is a Good Idea

The Orange County library system has come up with a sensible plan to bring in more money after years of tough fiscal times. The Board of Supervisors, which approved the plan last week, still faces a difficult problem this week: the proposed closing of six library branches.

Some of the library fees are new, others are higher, but none represents a radical departure. Numerous area libraries imposed similar levies some time ago. In some cases, other libraries charge for services, such as checking out compact discs, that the county system would continue to provide for free.

Fines for overdue books, tapes and compact discs would jump from 20 cents per day to 25 cents. Reserving a book, now free, would cost 25 cents. Those charges hardly would cause financial harm to library patrons.

Another good idea is renting extra copies of bestsellers for $1.50 a week. Again, that is something already done by a number of city libraries. It is relatively cheap for the borrower and avoids waiting as long as a year for a new book by authors such as John Grisham or Tom Clancy.

Library officials also are developing plans to sell “gold cards” for $25. Those holding the cards could get discounts at various shops and restaurants. It is a good idea that could benefit the libraries with more money and businesses with more patrons.

County libraries have been forced to do more with less in recent years, adding expensive computerized systems, paying more for ever more expensive books, and watching the payments they once received from property taxes diverted to the state to balance the budget in Sacramento. With the bankruptcy, tough times got tougher, and the library system was told to cut its budget from $23 million to about $20 million.

Public libraries long have been one of the wonders of this country, offering a window on the world for readers. In Orange County they have mirrored the changing demographics, with shelves of books available not just in English but also in Vietnamese, Spanish and other languages.

For those who get their books and other materials back on time, the service will still be free, which is fitting. Getting help from businesses, whether through direct contributions or indirect programs like the “gold card,” also makes sense. Businesses depend on literate employees and customers and have a stake in institutions dedicated to encouraging residents’ interest in the written word, whether on a printed page or, increasingly these days, on a computer screen.