This is a subject that comes up again and again. As a public librarian in Illinois, let me explain a few realities. Libraries cost money. There are staff to pay and provide benefits for, heating, lighting, building maintenance, telephones, faxes, computers (very costly) and catalog costs to be paid over and above the cost of the furniture, building, and books. Even when part of this is donated or long paid-for, most of the costs are ongoing and must be paid from somewhere. Michigan residents are fortunate in that they have county library systems that allow them to use free public libraries somewhere in their county in almost all cases, regardless of where in the state they may live. You may not be aware that many states do not have such a system. Here in Illinois, for instance, public libraries operate on individual district boundaries. They receive tax money only from within their district, so anyone who lives outside the district cannot expect free service. Such people often become very angry and insist that they are being "cheated", yet the fact is they are being cheated of nothing because they have not paid for anything yet. Offered a chance to buy a library card at the same tax rate paid by district residents, most will refuse. Libraries are not "cheap" but they are still a bargain. The average homeowner here in Harvard pays $140 per year in library tax. Under state law, we can sell non-residents who have no library card from anywhere in ! Illinois a Harvard card for $140. This entitles everyone in their household to full library services, including checking out books and borrowing from other Illinois libraries as well as our own. If you are a regular library user, you know this is a bargain, even if you only read half a dozen books a year, but many people just don't see it that way. Some few older libraries in Michigan are not members of the county system. Usually these are city libraries and are funded by city taxes separate from state or county library support. Detroit and Dearborn are two such libraries with which I am familiar. If you do not pay taxes to support those libraries, they are entirely within their rights if they ask to to pay to help support the cost of any service you use there. Most libraries try very hard to avoid overcharging in such situations, or even to avoid charging at all if they can. But the truth of the matter is, you can't demand a free service that you haven't paid for. When I lived in Michigan, both Detroit and Dearborn Public Libraries welcomed anyone who wanted to do research in their collections, regardless of residence. They gave away reference help for free, but would not check out books to you unless you had a library card (meaning you were a taxpayer or else you paid an annual fee for the card.) It would take changes to laws at the state level to change this situation. You can ask your state legislators to address this, but remember, if they do not provide funding to support the additional demand, the end result will be a cut in library services rather than an improvement. Gary Phillips General Services Librarian Harvard Diggins Library Harvard, Illinois