The Demand for Local Public Services, Spillovers, and Urban Decay: The Case of Public Libraries
1976 ◽
Vol 4
(1)
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pp. 97-113
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This paper focuses on the demand for library services by nonresidents of the community which finances the library. For several middle-size metropolitan areas in New York, it is shown that nonresidents contribute substantially to the financial burden of supporting a library. In addition, while the core areas's ability to support libraries is likely to decrease in the future, the demand for library services by nonresidents is likely to increase. This may lead to a change in the current scheme of local financing used by many public libraries in the United States.