r/Library • u/BensFaveTaco • 15d ago
We <3 Libraries Lost Library Relationship
Recently Libby kicked me off of one of my library cards. It's the library card I've had since I was 5. Being kicked off is no surprise, I haven't lived in that town since I was about 18- and that was about 15 years ago.
But, now, my parents don't live in the town anymore amd there's no way of renewing my card. Yes, I have a new card to my new library in my new town. But, I can't help feel like I've lost a significant relationship or community with my OG library. I loved the building, the memories, and the catalog.
I called them tonight to check. There's no option for non-residents. As Monica would say "it's the end of an era."
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u/colormeslowly 15d ago
Interesting enough, I still have friends and family that live in places that require residency for the library.
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u/YakSlothLemon 14d ago
If you’re not paying taxes there, you’re not funding all the stuff that the library offers. And their budgets are almost always so tight that they want to reserve what they do have for the people who are paying for it.
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u/BensFaveTaco 14d ago
Oh, absolutely! Some libraries offer a non-resident card for a yearly fee, which I would gladly pay.
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u/ElenOlenska 13d ago
That's how I get my card, because I live in the county. $50 a year. I'd be devastated if I didn't have a library card.
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u/colormeslowly 14d ago
Are you implying my family and friends don’t pay taxes? I can assure you they do.
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u/HungryHangrySharky 9d ago
No, people are saying it is normal for libraries to do that since most of their funding comes from local city/county taxes, paid by the people that live there.
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u/BensFaveTaco 15d ago
I'm honestly trying to think through who still lives in that town whom I would feel comfortable asking to "borrow" their address. I'm just not coming up with anyone.
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u/LMFAEIOUplusY 15d ago
What’s the town? You’re on Reddit . . . maybe someone “here” will come through for you!?
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u/Powerful-Barracuda94 14d ago
No advice, but I get that. I moved cities and had some inner turmoil about my lifelong library card. Finally just got signed up at my new library, but I'm holding on to the old card for a bit for memories sake.
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u/ksoloki 14d ago
what state? I was kicked off la county because i don’t live there, but in california you can apply if you visit in person. So i live near la county so i just went in person and applied. Is something like this an option for you?
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u/BensFaveTaco 14d ago
NM! Unfortunately, I'm fully out of state- which they said was a requirement when I called.
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u/shinyappyrobin 14d ago
I know it's not just about the card, but about the last connection with your home town. But your hometown is in your memories.
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u/TechnicalArticle9479 14d ago
Here in California, as long as you have a valid DL/ID, most public library systems actually DON'T care where you really live...
The only exception is the city of Redlands, where not only you have to provide proof of residency BUT also give the name of your kids' schools and also show proof of employment within the City(and until recently, your place of employment MUST be a member in great standing with the Redlands Chamber of Commerce, including nearby Loma Linda University and the Medical Center)...this was as of ten years ago...
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u/ksoloki 14d ago
still true but some cities require you to bring in dl in person if you don’t live i. the area- this is now the case with la county
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u/TechnicalArticle9479 14d ago
At one point, I had THIRTEEN library cards...
Three counties:L.A., San Bernardino and Orange...
Nine cities:Irwindale, Burbank, Monrovia, Arcadia, San Bernardino city, Colton, Hemet, Pasadena and Beaumont...unfortunately, my overstuffed wallet was stolen a few years ago and that's when the statewide residency "crackdown" probably happened...
I now only have L.A. County, San Bernardino County and Hemet...
A friend of mine had four:L.A. City, NYC(he was born in the Bronx), Boston and Chicago...he was still using them when he died five years ago...
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u/NoResponsibility9063 10d ago
Not true about Redlands, at least as of last year when I got our cards. Proof of CA residency is all you need, and that doesn't have to be a dl/id. That said, their children's section always smells like poop so we prefer the libraries in Highland or Highgrove. (Disclosure: Highgrove does sometimes smell like poop too but only when the burros are around, and that's just in the parking lot. Burros don't go in the children's section. They can't read.)
But yes California libraries are for all Californians, regardless of where you live in the state. I ❤️ CA libraries!
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u/TechnicalArticle9479 10d ago edited 10d ago
This was like 20 years ago...
The assistant librarian of the city handled my application...and she was SO rude she'd make that fictionally famous LAPD Det. Sgt. Joe Friday look normal...
She repeatedly demanded proof of Redlands residency, proof that I had enrolled my kids in the school district, proof that my workplace was a member in good standing with the Chamber of Commerce, proof that I bought my car/truck/SUV at either Tom Bell Chevrolet-Toyota or Jim Glaze Lincoln-Mercury, then tried to charge me $125...
I tore up the application and left...
At least(from what you say) times have changed now...
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u/YakSlothLemon 14d ago
The library is mostly funded by local and state tax dollars, so essentially you have been getting a free ride paid for by other people. It’s a very mild form of theft (and one I’m totally guilty of because I have a big-city library card that I still use from a state in which I no longer live, it all costs that library money, and I’m not contributing anymore.)
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u/BensFaveTaco 14d ago
Yeah, I can see this rationale. I will say that funding hasnt really been an issue for this lirbary bc it's in a rich county. But, still, I'm all for funding lirbraries.
For me, I also took into account that my parents were still local and paying taxes and that a lot of libraries (including this one) get funding based on usage. I would hope that my usage proves to the county that it is still worth funding.
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u/cubemissy 14d ago
It’s not just about the tax base. It also affects contracts with digital content providers like Libby, Gale, etc. Pricing structure is affected by # people per service area.
The demand for online content has risen so steeply that budgets can’t keep up, so we prefer to spend that limited money on residents in our designated area.