Quote:
Originally Posted by darklord700
I would go for library. The current limit of 99 items is absurd to me. Reduce the limit to 20 which is still a lot and you can reduce cost.
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How does this save money though? How many people are checking out anything close to 99 books from the library - I would guess that the number is very very low, in fact I would guess the only people who do that are people who run education programs, book clubs and perhaps people with children. The average person likely a) doesn't use the library and b) checks out 2-3 items at a time.
It is nice on paper to reduce the limit but that doesn't do anything to reduce costs... plus how does reducing the number of books that people can borrow going to reduce costs, will the library order less books - doubtful, there is still a demand for the books in question whether one is checked out or 20 or 99 at a time. I don't see how there would be much in the way of savings associated with your plan.
If you want to start looking for short term savings at the libraries you need to examine staffing levels, facilities and hours of operation in the facilities. Those are hard cuts to make though - the other option that I can think of is unless someone falls under a minimum line (say 55,000 per annum) they are charged a premium of something minimal ie 5 cents per item borrowed from the library - or potentially a system where there is a priority checkout where someone can pay 50 cents to a dollar in order to check out a single item which would otherwise be on hold, in other words move themselves to the front of the queue. I know there would be some people opposed to it but it would generate money that could in turn be put back into libraries helping ensure quality service for all.
It isn't merely slash and cut that is needed it is innovation and for people with ideas to speak out and hopefully they will be listened to, that may be the biggest benefit to having Nenshi as mayor, he makes a concerted effort to listen to the common citizen, something that wasn't present in other mayors.