[BHC] Failure of the Non-Detroiter Fee

[John P. DuLong]

Hello Folks,

 

As it has been some time since I last checked on the Burton Historical
Collection, I thought it might prove worthwhile to submit another Freedom of
Information Act request.  This time I asked the Detroit Public Library
administration for data regarding the impact of the fee the Detroit Library
Commission imposed on non-Detroiters starting in August 2004.

 

The results for the Burton Historical Collection are rather stunning.  All
measures of usage decrease soon after August 2004 and have remained low.
Here are the totals for 2003, 2004, and 2005:

 

2003

Totals

References        48718

Visitors             9811

 

2004

Totals

References        33116

Visitors             8384

 

2005

Totals

References        20703

Visitors             5821

 

(The monthly breakdowns can be found at the end of this email.)

 

You can see how soon after August 2004, when the non-Detroiter fee was
imposed, the number of references and visitors drops precipitously and keeps
going down.  These low numbers reflect the reports I have received form many
of you who have used the Burton Historical Collection that there are just a
handful of users in the reading and microfilm rooms at any given time.

 

How much money has the library collected from imposing this fee?  Does it
come close to the millions of state funding they lost due to alleged
corruption and incompetence?  Is it enough to compensate for the bad
publicity and ill-will this policy has created?  Well folks, they made a
whopping $16,400 over 17 months from August 2004 to December 2005.  They
collected $5,900 in annual fees and $10,500 in day passes.

 

This policy has been a complete failure.  In a period of American culture
when genealogy has become one of the most popular pastimes, the Burton
Historical Collection should be able to hold on to its patrons if not
attract more. Instead, many patrons have apparently moved on.  With the
online resources available through the Internet and wonderful libraries in
Lansing and Fort Wayne, it makes little sense for many of us to continue
using the Burton Historical Collection if we have to pay a fee.

 

Before this fee was imposed, we proposed that a voluntary donation program
be initiated and that genealogical and historical societies be encouraged to
participate.  The Friends of the Burton Historical Collection, affiliated
with the Friends of the Detroit Public Library, could have helped coordinate
this plan.  We also requested that the library administration make a
commitment that any funds raised would be spent on the Burton Historical
Collection.  A voluntary donation program would have undoubtedly led to more
than $16,400 in donations primarily because it would be a tax deduction,
while the non-resident fee is not tax deductible.  However, the library
administration failed to heed our suggestions.  Now I fear it is too late to
try and resurrect such a program.  What do you think?

 

Regards,

 

JP

 

John P. DuLong, Ph.D.

959 Oxford Road

Berkley, MI 48072-2011

(248) 541-2894

http://habitant.org <http://habitant.org/> 

 

Here is the complete monthly data for References and Visitors:

 

2003

Jan       Feb       Mar       Apr       May      June     July      Aug
Sept     Oct       Nov       Dec      Totals

References        4233     4419     5009     4162     5818     4502     6206
3212     3162     3470     2896     1929     48718

Visitors             761       800       985       827       862       775
978       733       755       949       763       603       9811

 

2004

Jan       Feb       Mar       Apr       May      June     July      Aug
Sept     Oct       Nov       Dec      Totals

References        2555     3368     4493     3920     2568     2665     4464
2180     2102     1482     1734     1585     33116

Visitors             638       853       971       767       657       730
1066     581       544       580       527       470       8384

 

2005

Jan       Feb       Mar       Apr       May      June     July      Aug
Sept     Oct       Nov       Dec      Totals

References        1969     2183     2202     1968     1755     1972     1797
1361     1316     1528     1452     1200     20703

Visitors             368       517       566       587       465       528
565       509       483       510       424       299       5821

 

 

 

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