County Library District Eliminates Annual Library Card Fee All County Libraries Free

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CLARA COUNTY – Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian announced today that, effective July 1, the Santa Clara County Library District will eliminate the $80 annual fee for a library card for people who do not live in the library district, making all libraries in the county free to use for the first time since 2011.

Until 2011, the State reimbursed public libraries for lending materials to residents of other library jurisdictions. When the State announced plans in 2011 to cut the $2.1 million the Santa Clara County Library District received to allow non-district residents to use its libraries, the Library District Joint Powers Authority voted to approve an $80 annual fee for a library card for non-residents to make up the loss. Late last year, however, the District Board voted 8-3 on a motion made by Simitian to eliminate the fee effective July 1.

With the elimination of the $80 annual fee, residents of Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, San Jose, and Santa Clara will be able to use any library in the county for free for the first time since 2011.

Simitian noted that, “No other library system in the county charges non-residents for a library card. So residents of the County Library District could borrow freely in other communities, but the residents of those other communities got slapped with an $80 fee when they showed up in our District and asked for reciprocity.”

“To make matters worse,” Simitian said, “the fee didn’t raise much money, cost a lot to administer, and was a nuisance to members of the public who had to provide proof of residency.”

“It just struck me as wrong on so many levels,” said Simitian. “Our public libraries aren’t truly public when we charge an entrance fee. This $80 charge essentially became a ‘knowledge tax.’ It’s time we stopped charging folks for access.”

The $80 library card fee was “one of the first issues I heard about when I started holding sidewalk office hours in my district,” said Simitian.  “I did a little homework, made my case, and discovered that others shared my concerns.”

Prior to this change, to be eligible for a free Santa Clara County Library District card, you had to reside or own property in the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County or in one of the following nine cities or towns: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill or Saratoga.

Simitian said the July 1 fee elimination is “particularly timely, so the whole family can use the library during the busy summer months.”

The $80 fee will be eliminated effective July 1, 2015.

To learn more about the Santa Clara County Library District, visit www.sccl.org.