You don't have to donate. Hertfordshire Libraries are a universal and free service to the community. Your decision to donate is an entirely voluntary one.
We ask that you donate only as much as you feel comfortable with. You may want to consider either a one-off payment or more frequently.
Donations will be used entirely to maintain and enhance the services we offer to the community. There are no deductions or fees and they will not be used to pay salaries.
Here are some examples of what individual donations may equate to:
- £2 will contribute to a place at one of our many children’s activities
- £5 will buy a top-quality paperback
- £10 will support our digital inclusion activities to address social inequality.
I already pay my Council Tax. Doesn’t this cover the cost of running the service?
Council Tax doesn't cover all of the running costs of the library service.
Hertfordshire Libraries (like many other library services) raises £1 out of every £11 in order to support the development and sustainability of services.
Donations are one of a number of revenue streams to help us achieve this.
Hertfordshire Libraries has a number of income generating services. These include:
- photocopier charges
- meeting room hire
- display space hire
- charging for stalls / pop-up shops
- reading group subscriptions.
100% of each donation goes directly to Hertfordshire Libraries and will be directed to where it is most needed. We think it is only right that funds are prioritised to where the need is greatest.
In some circumstances, conditional donations may be made e.g. to support the Summer Reading Challenge in memory of a family member.
Ask about making a conditional donation
Unfortunately this is not possible at the moment.