At a December 5 meeting, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, library administrators and civic leaders rejected a proposal to recommend a special identification-card system to track not only borrowed materials, but any use of library services, including public computers.
Funding to the 16 public libraries in the county system is currently based on circulation statistics, a formula established three years ago when some libraries threatened breaking away over funding inequities, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported December 5.
Proponents of the ID card say it would create a fairer funding system by factoring in use of services by patrons who don’t check out materials, while critics worry the card could infringe patrons’ right to privacy and cost as much as $500,000. “It is not a workable idea,” said Menomonee Falls Public Library Director Richard Crane.
System Director Thomas Hennen presented other options for reforming the system, but recommended the committee stick with the status quo. “It is the only one of those options that offers stability,” he said. The long-range planning and funding group will issue a report recommending any changes to the county board by March 2003.
Posted December 9, 2002.