used books

Friends of the Canton Public Library

Happy Holidays! The Friends of the Canton Public Library is a group of citizens interested in supporting the ideals of the library through the sales of memberships and used books in Secondhand Prose Used Book Shop. The shop is located next to the Internet Lab. The Friends support programs, art enhancements, special collections, the library endowment fund and much more. You can help...
  • Become a member (before December 31 for a Michigan tax credit)
  • Donate used books to Secondhand Prose [call (734) 397-0999 x1031 for details]
  • Buy books for the booklovers on your list (great bargains on great books)
  • Volunteer for the book crew (email pattyjenkins1914@comcast.net)
or visit the Friends' page for more details.

Donate

Your tax-deductible contributions help support library collections, programs, and services.

Operating Fund

Donating to the operating fund is an excellent choice, as it helps with current expenses.

Endowment

Donating to the Endowment Fund is a gift for future generations.

Materials

Donated materials may be placed in the brown wooden structure behind the building. If your donation can be added to the library's collection, it will be. If not, your donation goes to Secondhand Prose used bookstore for fundraising purposes.

We're looking for

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • CDs
We're not looking for magazines, textbooks published before 2000, encyclopedias older than eight years, dirty or otherwise damaged items, record albums, computer hardware, or CD-ROMs.

Library Value Calculator

In the 'usage' column, click the checkboxes if you've borrowed books or movies, and put the number of times you've used the other resources in the last year. The total will automatically update when you click out of a field (or into the next field).
Market Value of Library Services
UsageLibrary ServicesValue of Services

Borrowing a library book is not the same value as buying a new book. As such, we base the savings on the approximate annual cost of services like Booksfree and BookSwim, which work like Netflix but for books.

Netflix (rounded to $9/month) is the closest 'competitor' to our DVD lending service. We don't stream movies like Netflix presently, but we do let you check out as many DVDs as you can carry.

Our calculation of $30 per class is approximated on the average 1.5 hour cost for one-time computer [personal enrichment] classes at local Universities and Community Colleges.

Given the ephemeral nature of Magazines and Newspapers, it is fair to approximate reading and/or borrowing periodicals as the same as newsstand price, or $2 each.

The $7 approximation is based on the purchase price of an album on iTunes, and the per-album queue price for the Yourmusic service.

Storytimes and programs for children and adults. $10 per program is based on similar offerings by Canton Area Moms 4 Community, Canton Township Leisure Services at the Summit, and the Library of Michigan.

NHS Tutoring Value based on estimated per-hour cost of Sylvan Homework Support.

It's tough to estimate a fixed value for Reference. A question of fact, like those asked through kgb, costs $1 on the open market. An hour of professional research through many libraries (including New York Public Library) routinely costs $60 or more.

If you don't have access to a computer, the most viable option beside the library is Kinko's (Fedex Office). They charge $12 per hour of computer use.

Renting a room at the Summit on the Park or at Canton Township historical sites costs approximately $50 per hour.

Like reference questions, accessing databases has a varying and subjective value. The $20 estimate is approximate, based on short-period personal access costs to various databases.

The $9 estimate is an average of ticket prices to local museums such as the DIA, Henry Ford Museum, Michigan State Parks, etc.

Total:
Download the kit to use this calculator on your library site.

Our Budget

If you own a home or business in Canton, your property taxes contribute to the library's budget. To keep the library open, we're allotted a maximum of 1.5437 per mil, which is less than 5% of property tax revenue.

A hundred-dollar bill with 4.57% shaded to represent CPL's share

The average household will pay $177 to the library in 2011.

So is the library worth it? Darn tootin'. Here's why:

Your Dollar Goes 4x Further

In a 2007 report by the Americans for Libraries Council, multiple library valuations showed the benefit to users is between $2 and $7 for every $1 spent, with a hard median of 4:1 ROI. While circumstances vary, it was found unanimously that libraries provide benefits via economies of scale that the private sector is worse at providing.

Libraries Increase a Community's Value

A report from the State of Florida showed the indirect benefits of libraries. Their analysis (based on circumstances assuming libraries were to cease to exist) showed that $1 invested in Public Libraries resulted in:

  • A $10.57 increase in Gross Regional Product
  • An overall wage increase of $22.97

You derive value from other people using libraries. When a child uses library materials to learn to read, then goes on to become a productive member of the Canton community; or an aspiring businessperson uses library resources to draft a plan that stimulates the local economy — those activities increase the value of the region. Also, the very presence of a library in a community likely raises property values the same way schools do.