Ohio Library council mulls nonprint fees

COLUMBUS (AP) -- An Ohio Library Council official says charging patrons fees for nonprint materials goes against everything that public libraries stand for.
"Imagine ... saying to a child, 'You can't check out 'Lion King' unless you pay 50 cents or a buck,"' said Lynda Murray, the council's director of government and legal services.
The $51 billion budget passed by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Bob Taft would allow libraries to charge patrons who check out CDs, DVDs, videotapes, audiotapes, records, computer software and even for Internet use.
Library administrators also worry that lawmakers will use it as an excuse to give libraries less money in the future, Murray said.
State Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, introduced the amendment after board members of Cincinnati's library system told him they were looking for ways to raise money. The amendment doesn't require them to charge.
Taft must sign the budget by Thursday, the end of the state fiscal year.
The Ohio Library Council plans to ask Taft to use a line-item veto to remove the amendment, Murray said.