Next time you head into a local library branch to renew your card, get a new membership, download an e-book, or browse the Internet, you won’t have to pay a cent.

Membership fees at the Calgary Public Library were eliminated this week thanks to private donors who are able to cover costs for the city earlier than the proposed January date.

And while this week’s budget proposal to city council saw the library ask for a 3.5-per-cent increase in its operating budget for each of the next four years, library CEO Bill Ptacek admits much of its future revenue is expected to come from donations.

It’s part of a large, recently ramped-up fundraising campaign by the Calgary Public Library Foundation, a charitable group created in 1999 to help support local libraries.

“This is about impact, and our ability to impact lives,” said Paul McIntyre Royston, foundation president and CEO.

“It’s about getting more people into the library, being a bigger part of the community, and making an impact with early learners, newcomers to Calgary, and low-income Calgarians.”

According to the city’s 2015 Business Plan, the $12 library-card fee was to be lifted early next year. But Calgarians already started enjoying the benefits of free membership this week. In addition to the traditional borrowing of books, CDs and DVDs, that includes access to a growing list of e-books, free Wi-Fi and computer use at all 18 branches.

Since the fundraising campaign was renewed two years ago, the foundation has earned $1.9 million in 2012, $5 million in 2013, and this year has already earned well over $5 million.

Major donations have included a $1-million gift from CNOOC Nexen, $500,000 from the Royal Bank of Canada and three more $1-million gifts expected to be announced in coming months.

Beyond revitalizing existing branches, which will include more open spaces, musical instruments, and toys for kids, the foundation is looking to expand library programs into the community, with daycare programs and a re-invention of the bookmobile called “Library to Go.”

Much of the fundraising push is related to the highly anticipated opening of the new $245-million Central Library Branch in 2018, just east of City Hall.

Library board member and inner-city councillor Evan Woolley says the foundation has made huge strides in recent years — not only in fundraising but in ensuring that libraries stay relevant in the digital age.

“There was a time, just at the start of the Internet craze, when it seemed libraries might no longer seem as relevant. But libraries today are about much more than books. They are places of learning. And we know now more than ever how important learning and education is.”

Library CEO Ptacek, who recently arrived in Calgary after overseeing the beginnings of a new central library in Seattle, hopes now that library memberships are free, the city can expect to more than double its attendance.

“We are one of the only libraries in North America that still had a fee,” Ptacek said.

“And it’s just not necessary. That $12 really was a barrier for a lot of families, new Canadians, low-income earners. Now everybody has access and everyone can come in and enjoy what libraries have to offer.”

Axing the membership fee will also have a small impact on the library’s roughly $54-million annual operating budget. Membership fees brought in $1.4 million — slightly less than Calgary branches raised in fines, Ptacek said.

And with more members expected, fine revenues should go up, offsetting lost revenue from cards.

eferguson@calgaryherald.com

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