NEWPORT BEACH : Librarian Discourages Non-Resident Use Fees
Hoping to make the Newport Beach Public Library more self-supporting, the city has proposed to charge out-of-towners to use the facilities.
But a report to the City Council from LaDonna Kienitz, city librarian and community services director, states that such a policy would cost the city more in lost state subsidies than it would produce in user and other fees.
About 45% of the people who use the library system live outside the city, Kienitz said. The state reimbursed the city $310,000 last year for providing that service to non-residents. That funding would be cut off if the city charged fees to non-residents, she said.
Non-residents also paid about $90,000 in fines and materials fees last year, Kienitz said.
The city library system has an annual budget of nearly $4 million.
The City Council, which requested the study, will review the report at a study session Monday.
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