As devils advocate, do you know very how tight most library and museum budgets are? I don’t know the inner financial support structure of The MET, or the funding it does or doesn’t receive.
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But in most cities, small towns, and rural communities across the nation, these cultural institutions main source of funding is doled out by the local government from the various taxes...However, too many times, when times are tight, these org. budgets are the first to go
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A good library is made of so much more than books, and all the services, digital devices, equipment, training classes, etc. require mega costs. The same can be said for our museum counterparts. It costs a lot of money, especially to meet user needs and demands
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Again, I don’t know why this decision was made, and i would never want public libraries to be admission based - but as a librarian who sees library budgets cut yearly, i understand the need for more funds (though, most libraries do require non-city/county residents to pay)
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Again, don’t know the Met’s reasons but please realize that people eager romanticizely open access to cultural institutions but don’t realize how bare-bones most of us operate.
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If this decision angers you, consider donating to local cultural institutions. Yes, your tax dollars technically go to them already, but understand, it is a tiny amount. Keep these institutions accessible to everyone! Donate today!
#librarylife#LibrariesRock
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Cleveland Museum of Art is free every day it’s open to the public. It’s one of our national treasures.
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The St. Louis Art Museum also is free
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Poor folk deserve beauty too.
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It's still free/pay what you can for NYers and students who live in NJ and CT. The fee is for tourists.
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The Museum of Art Institute Chicago charges $15.00 a person. Its actually the cheapest museum in the city.
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Actually $22 now w/service charge for city residents, $27 for out of state. But it’s still a truly great museum.
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Yes you're right! That $15 price was for a Chicago city pass.
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People who live outside of the community pay for library cards all over this country. Surprise!
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Not always true. I actually just got a free digital library card last night and am reading ebooks for free. (Legally, on the website of a library in a city in my state.) Those non-resident fees can be cost prohibitive for low income families without libraries in their communities
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That’s really cool about a digital library card! Here in Alabama we have something similar for state residents, called the Alabama Virtual Library.
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This is not a moral issue. Nonprofit does not mean free. Nonprofits need financial support and a great many of them do this in part by charging fees for services. Disagree with the Met's decision all you want, but this line of argument is way off.
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Agree with this comment. I have not read article but to say in title that because nonprofit status and tax breaks they need to be free disregards reality and nature of running a nonprofit operation. Hope MET still thinking how to be accessible (free days, community programs, etc)
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That makes the point perfectly. They should not be able to charge if they want to retain their non-profit status. Also the art there should be for everyone regardless of their ability to pay if taxes are supporting the museum.
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Being a non-profit doesn’t mean you can’t charge for a service. What if they need the revenue to pay the bills to keep the doors open?
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