My board is considering instituting an annual fee for patrons who live outside our district. I have a few questions for those libraries that do charge an out-of-district fee, particularly if such a fee was instituted during your tenure at the library.

1) How much do you charge, and how did you arrive at that number?

2) How many out-of-district cards do you issue per year?

3) Does your year begin when the patron pays the fee, or is it based on the calendar year? Do you pro-rate the fee if someone joins partway through the year?

4) Do you feel that you are losing patrons and/or not providing necessary service to everyone?

5) If these fees were instituted during your tenure, can you tell me how patrons reacted to the new fees?

6) Do you have any sort of operational millage?

Thanks for your time,

Cory