Tyler Rousseau answered this one way up at the top of the comments. I think his answer is right on the money.

Add my name to those concerned about charging fees; even small ones will begin to erode the time-tested foundations of our public library system.

What are the alternatives? I believe a variety of complementary approaches is needed including re-thinking the existing funding model, re-thinking how regional public library resources are managed and extending the integration of libraries with local community needs in order to increase public support.

First the librarians, boards, and library organizations need to change their mode of speech. Libraires are not free, we offer the freedom to learn, the freeedom to research, the freedom the read for pleasure, the freedom to watch for plesure, the freedom to watch for learnings sake, the freedom to create and enjoy, but there is a financial cost to those services. A financial cost to the library and to the people who use the services.

Once we, the librarians, boards, and library organizations begin to accept that what we offer is not free, we can also begin to show the punblic the incredible value they get for the small fee they pay for libraries.

Even Andrew Carnegie, as he gave money for communities to build libraries, required that the community tax the people for the services that would be provided.

State laws vary (PA allows premium services as long as a free alternative exists). Where do we draw the line before charging for the use of the copier, which almost everyone does, charging for the use of a meeting room, which is relatively common, charging for DVDs (rare), and charging for books (reviled)?

I have no problem, however, with charging for new DVD rentals; that just seems like common sense.

My state law states: "Each library established under this part shall be free to the use of the inhabitants of the city where located …." Specifically, this statute applies to public libraries established by cities and paid for from local taxes. Maybe academic or other types of libraries are not bound by similar laws, but that pretty much ends the debate in my state about charging for services at the local public library.

However, it seems likely that where libraries are allowed to charge for services, of whatever type, patrons will eventually look around and realize that they are already paying for library services throught their taxes, so – "Why is it you're asking me to pay out of pocket for placing a hold on a book when my already considerable taxes are paying to support this library?"

One other observation regards the basic permis of the "freemium" discussion. As was mentioned, businesses uses that to draw customers into their business to provide the opportunity to then "sell" the customer additional services/products they offer. If a library is truly free, and is unable to charge for any of its services, that pretty much defeats the purpose of the "freemium" business model (and also ends the debate).

This topic seems to be limited to a very few special situations and libraries, but it was a nice diversion.

When was the last time you were at an airport? Did you notice that first class passengers have a "special" security gate that gets them through faster? The security gate is not owned by the airlines. The security gate is run by the airport and if I'm not mistaken, staffed by TSA employees (federal employees). This differentiation by our government is maddening. Security gates at airports are a necessary hassle. Why should one group of people get through faster and easier because they have or spent more money?

This is what "premium services" offered at a library would look like. You can wait on a shorter line for the new Janet Evanovich if you have the money. You can have home delivery if you have the money. You can get the reference librarian to spend more time with you if you have the money.

Really? Is that really the atmosphere we want to create? I actually think we should have LESS barriers. And hey, if our patrons get sick of waiting on long lines for the latest books, CDs and DVDs, they might be more vocal when it comes time to fund us.

Sometimes you have to show failure in order to get the help you need to succeed.

What bothers me most about charging for library services is simply that it undermines the very idea of public libraries. Public Libraries are community supported and funded, and are as vibrant and rich as their communities will allow them to be.

Communities regularly vote to raise taxes to support libraries, and also redistribute library funds to other services they temporarily (hopefully) value more highly.

And if a single community finds itself unable to support a library district the way they want to, tax funding laws that support libraries can be reconfigured to widen tax bases to support different configurations of library organizations

And that is where the battles need to be fought. Charging for library services simply undermines the idea that libraries are community structures that depend absolutely on the tax base, and good will of the community. Charging for library services strikes me as a death knell: Why should communities support tax bills to support the library if they have to pay out of pocket and at the desk to use the services??