? Clayton Library OUT of JoCo Library System June 1?

Anyone know more?
I was at the Smithfield main library today & was told that CLAYTON LIBRARY was going to be OUT of the system as of June 1. You cannot return Clayton books across the county after June 1. Clayton will issue a NEW Clayton only CARD
AND
if you live outside of the City Limits there is a USE FEE!?!?

Someone PLEASE tell me this is NOT TRUE!

The person in Smithfield made it sound like Clayton was "divorcing" the JoCo Library System. My word- not theirs.

 

Thats what I read a few weeks ago....
http://www.townofclaytonnc.org/library/library-changes-faqs.aspx
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/clayton-news-star/article19365045.html

 

So not happy about having to PAY $$$ to have the privilege to use the Clayton Library! They will have a very difficult time getting $25.00-$50.00 from this family. Not going to happen. They have lost our 'business'. It is all about the MONEY.

 

This seems pretty ridiculous to me...I've never had to pay to use a library before! Guess I better figure out where the next closest one is.

 

Library's getting a Divorce! Just Crazy!

 

Yep, paying for something already there, mostly old books, a somewhat archaic set up, and old computer system to search for other books. I enjoyed their online system that was linked to the library in Smithfield. I won't be going there again. Tired of the nickel and diming.

 

I think they are cutting off their nose to spite their face. A public library is just one of those things that ought to be free for everyone, no matter whether they are a resident of the Town of Clayton or not. I will not darken their door again.

 

I don't think libraries are 'free' per se. Taxes pay for them as well as overdue fees as modest as they might be. Was the Clayton Library self sustaining or did it rely on a budget from JoCo. If it was the latter, perhaps the Clayton Library has bigger plans than what they can accomplish with the budget allotted to them.

 

Gosh, I thought libraries ran on rainbow wishes and unicorn burps. <sarcasm>. Dude, obviously libraries are funded from taxes, the point you missed is that anyone should be able to walk into any library anywhere and use it. Period.

 

decision makes sense to me. anyone not living in town and not paying town taxes have had a free ride. town residents have been paying the tab. time for non residents to belly up and help pay to operate library. $25 for individual or $50 for a family seems reasonable. a friend lives 1 mile outside town limits and plans to find another library. she will spend more than $25 in gas.

"What does it take to operate Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library?
Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library has always been owned and operated by the Town of Clayton, with generous help from the non-profit Friends of the Library, Inc. Today, we manage the lending of 150,000 books and materials annually in a building that is open 6 days a week, 10 hours a day most of the week. It takes a staff of 14 employees to serve the more than 70,000 visitors who walk through the door each year. We manage and provide cutting-edge technology in our computer room and are continuously purchasing new additions to meet the increasing demand for digital eBooks, which for libraries can cost as much as 4 times more than the same book in printed form! In the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the Town of Clayton’s budget to operate Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library FOR JUST ONE YEAR was nearly half a million dollars – more than $441,000."

 

I don't live in town limits, just barely outside of them, but I do most of my "business" in town. I bank there, I eat out there, I buy my groceries there, I volunteer my time there, I've bought many, many books at the book sales, so I AM contributing to your budget, it's hardly a free ride. I might stop in the library a couple times a year, MAYBE. But hey, none of that matters I guess, Town of Clayton needs another $50. Welp, they aren't getting it from me, and I may re-think where I spend my hard earned money. Maybe Garner or Knightdale would be more appreciative.

 

Most people that use the library live outside town limits.... they will lose money

 

what were you paying for?

 

May have. Screw you and your library. You pay and I'll drive to Smithfield and use that one. You live in one of the fastest growing areas in the free world and have done so for the last 20+ years. Your great town leaders have grabbed every opportunity to stretch the city limits for taxes. What the hell do you have to brag about that Percy flowers descendants didn't make happen? Maybe 2 more stop lights? Move on with the isolationism and see how it works out.

 

The Clayton Town Council is a little out of control this year with tax increases, fee increases, and new fees. Clayton residents will soon have the 2nd highest tax rate in the Triangle if the 15/16 budget produced by the town manager is ratified by the Town Council.

The public will have an opportunity to provide feedback to the Town Council on proposed budget changes for 15/16 during the June 1 council session.

I would encourage everyone with concerns regarding the shift to a fee-based "public" library to participate in the Clayton Town Council meeting on Monday, June 1 at 6:30 pm.

 

Wow! So, I guess you never checked out a book on manners while you were there, huh? Do you have to have a membership to borrow or just get in through the door? A non-student at NCSU cannot borrow books, but they need to be a Friend of the Library, I believe, and that costs money.

So you're aware that they run on taxes, but not YOUR taxes since you don't live there. Would you like the City to come fix the potholes outside your house, too? To my point and theirs, perhaps the Clayton Library saw a disproportionate demand from out of town residents compared to the amount of funding they received from the County? Not something that is really sustainable is it? Like you said...you no likey, you no go! More power to you.

 

I'll use my manners when you quit assuming everyone but you is too stupid to understand that libraries require funds to operate. What a stupid thing to post. Thank you Captain Obvious. There, is that a better reponse Mr. Manners?

Again, you missed the part where I do contribute to the Town Of Clayton's coffers, but hey, let's not let the facts get in the way of your supposed intellectual superiority.

Some things never change.

 

The Town of Clayton is once again showing how greedy they truly are. Most people who NEED to use a library for the internet or for borrowing books probably can't afford to pay an extra $5o a year. I am fortunate that I won't miss the library. I just think it's a sorry state of affairs that a town would think it necessary to charge people for using a PUBLIC library. Please note, I said a PUBLIC library, not a college one. Apples to apples there ole Harv.

 

There are about a half a dozen comments, maybe not yours, regarding the library no longer being free. They never were. That's the point.

 

Is NCSU not a public university? Is it not state funded? BTW, apples to apples is actually my point. I think you meant apples to oranges.