Recommendations to revise or eliminate user fees at Boca Raton Public Library, 200 NW Boca Raton Blvd., have been rejected by the department that oversees the library.
On Tuesday, the Parks and Recreation Board decided not to change the library fees and eligibility, despite the case for changes made by the Library Advisory Board, according to Buddy Parks, deputy recreation services director.
The advisory board’s recommendations were reviewed by Parks’ staff, which recommended to the parks and recreations board that no changes be made, Parks said. Now, the recommendation will be reviewed by the Financial Advisory Board before it goes to the City Council for final approval on Sept. 26, according to Parks.
With the cost of a library card for nonresidents at $150, and membership down over the last five years, the advisory board is asking the Boca Raton City Council for changes.
“For months, various members of the library board had expressed disagreement with the fees that the library charges for various things. We knew their rationale; they don’t wish to raise taxes so they raised fees in a number of areas. But libraries should be free and their services should be free,” said Betty Grinnan, chairwoman of the advisory board who was a school librarian for 24 years.
To convince city leaders, the advisory board compiled information by visiting and calling municipal libraries nearby and outside Florida. A spreadsheet was created comparing Boca Raton Public Library with those cities in a number of areas, such as non-resident library card, book hold, Internet access and audio-visual checkout.
The spreadsheet, accompanied by a letter outlining the suggestions, was sent to Mayor Steven Abrams.
Bob Keltie, a member of the advisory board, put the spreadsheet together.
“The board was unanimous in expressing concerns. I would hope that the council members would take into consideration the impact of charging library fees, to the extent that we do, relative to other libraries, especially those nearest us,” Keltie said.
The biggest impact would be in nonresident membership fees. The $150 charge for a nonresident library card is up from $35 during the 1999-2000 fiscal year. The board’s letter pointed out that is a 233 percent increase.
An 87 percent decrease in nonresident memberships followed, a drop from 351 cards in 1999-2000 to 45 in 2005-May 2006, and a reduction in revenues from $12,265 to $6,750, according to the spreadsheet.
“When you look at the drop in nonmember residents, I don’t know how one can conclude anything else than that we have a fee issue. We’re not talking about a lot of money when you consider the total city budget, but it would help the image of the city of Boca Raton if we were more user friendly,” Keltie said.
The Palm Beach County Library System issues free cards to residents of Martin County and residents of Broward County who already have a county library card. The only exceptions are residents of Boca Raton and North Palm Beach, who are charged $30 annually because they are not part of the library cooperative, according to Kathy Boyes, community relations manager for the Palm Beach County Library System.
Pompano Beach and Highland Beach charge non-residents $35. Boynton Beach charges $30, according to Michael Bennett, library associate for the Boynton Beach Library.
Checking out videos or DVDs at the Boca Raton Library costs members $2 and hold fees are 25 cents. Those services at libraries canvassed for the spreadsheet are free.
Boca Raton charges $5.25 per hour or $3 per half-hour for Internet access for nonmembers. At the other libraries, those services are free, according to the spreadsheet.
The Delray Beach Library issues library cards for free to anyone who is a Florida resident, said Brian Coleman, manager of circulation.
“The library is a place where a person comes and has a relationship with us, instead of just coming to get a book,” he said. “It should be an outing, an experience. We want anyone and everyone to use the library.”
Catherine A. O’Connell, manager of Library Services for Boca Raton, is the city’s liaison with the library advisory board. She was sent a copy of the letter outlining recommendations to the City Council.
“The fees are all a part of the overall budget process for the city. In working out the budget, the city will decide, within the larger context of the city’s budget, how it will be dealt with,” she said. “Almost all departments charge some sort of fees. I think this is between the library board and the City Council, and I work at the pleasure of the city.”
The city is building two new libraries. Work on the $7.6 million, 41,000-square-foot Spanish River Library on Spanish River Boulevard just east of Military Trail has been at a standstill since March in a legal dispute with the contractor. The dispute is not affecting work on the Downtown Library, at Northwest Boca Raton Blvd. and Northwest Fourth Street. The site has been cleared, and the design work is expected to begin this fall, assistant city manager Michael Woika said in an earlier interview.
Staff Writer Luis Perez contributed to this story.
