Is The Free Library Really So ... Free?

PHILADELPHIA - With Pennsylvania lawmakers likely to miss the deadline for a new budget, the reality is that we need to take a hard look at the services tour tax dollars pay for. We want to figure out where that money needs to go.

Sometimes things that were once considered sacred may need to be sacrificed.

Tonight, Fox 29 takes a look at the Free Library.

Is it really so “free?"

The Free Library of Philadelphia was born on 1891. The system has grown to include 54 branches.

The popular misconception is that Benjamin Franklin was the founder of the Free Library of Philadelphia. However, Franklin’s system was subscription based – he charged a fee!

The real founder of the Free Library was Dr. William Pepper. Pepper started the library with $225,000 given to him by a wealthy uncle.

Today, the Free Library accounts for nearly $33 million of the Philadelphia city budget.

The library provides the public with access to millions of books, historic documents, and music. You can even text a question to a librarian. The Free Library does a great job of promoting the idea it is a God-given right. Some people believe it is a right written into the Constitution.

Well, Libraries are not a part of the Constitution, but they are a part of the fabric of any American city.

With Philadelphia’s budget millions of dollars in debt, should the Free Library system look into its own history books and adopt Franklin’s fee-based business model?

Fox 29’s Sean Tobin and Jeff Cole filed this report for Monday night's Fox 29 News at 10.