Those who don’t live in El Paso city limits will be charged fee to check out books from libraries

People who don’t live within El Paso city limits will now have to pay $50 to check out library books at City libraries.

“The reality – the universe we live in – we have to pay for the books we get and the books we lose that we have to pay to replace have to come with real dollars,” City Rep. Michiel Noe said.

City Council Tuesday voted to charge county residents an annual fee to check out books at City libraries.

But they’ll still be able to use library computers without being charged.

County Commissioner Vince Perez told City Council that with literacy so low in El Paso a fee would be detrimental. Perez said that both the City and the County really need to tackle literacy because if El Paso ends up having a workforce that isn’t very competitive across the state, it has implications.

City Rep. Emma Acosta said, “The County needs to step up. The County should offer some solutions to what we have – we’re doing the best with what we got.”

City Council approved the fee but said they’ll adjust it if the County pays the City for some of the amount.