![]() In 2021, more libraries began to tear down late fee policies. That same year, the American Library Association passed a resolution asserting the “imposition of monetary library fines creates a barrier to the provision of library and information services.” They urged libraries to “scrutinize” policies that imposed fines on library patrons for returning materials late and “actively move towards eliminating them.” “One in five suspended library cards citywide belong to children under 14.” “Furthermore, many of the blocked users are those who can benefit most from the resources at Chicago Public Library,” they noted when announcing the library’s decision to end late fees. The library noted it wasn’t that patrons in lower-income neighborhoods accrued more fines, it was that they didn’t have the same resources to pay them off. According to the library, more patrons living in low-income neighborhoods (1 in 3 patrons in the library’s South District) were unable to check out materials due to late fees compared to patrons living in more affluent areas (1 in 6 patrons in the library’s North District). In 2019, The Chicago Public Library followed suit, eliminating library late fees and erasing patrons’ outstanding debt after an internal analysis found similar socioeconomic disparities. According to NPR, the decision was spurred by a study that found nearly half of patron accounts that had been blocked from accessing library services due to accrued late fees were patrons who lived in two of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. In 2018, The San Diego Public Library stopped collecting late fees and waived all outstanding late fees. Similar policies were also rolled out at the Brooklyn Public Library and the Queens Public Library on Tuesday.īut New York isn’t the only state to recently see public libraries ditch their longstanding tradition of collecting late fees. Additionally, all existing late fees have been cleared from patrons' accounts. That is the antithesis of our mission to make knowledge and opportunity accessible to all, and needed to change.”īeginning Tuesday, the library will no longer charge late fees for overdue materials. “But, unfortunately, fines are quite effective at preventing our most vulnerable communities from using our branches, services, and books. “Research shows that fines are not effective in ensuring book returns,” New York Public Library President Tony Marx said Tuesday in a message to patrons. The move to eliminate fines comes as a number of libraries attempt to address issues of inequity and access. On Tuesday, New York City’s public libraries became the latest library system to waive all existing late fees and end its policy of charging patrons fines for returning materials after their due date. ![]() (The Associated Press contributed to this report.Libraries across the country are eliminating fines for overdue materials in an effort to make books and other library services more accessible to all. "Now we need to engage better with our patrons to make sure that we don't find ourselves in this position again," said Linda Johnson, the President and CEO of the Brooklyn Library. The amnesty period will be brief, as fines will begin accruing on the same day. ![]() "It liberates our children to make sure that they feel free, to come through our doors, to take out books and materials and DVD's and not have any blocks or hindrances," said Dennis Walcott, the President and CEO of the Queens Library. High school students who are over 17 have until November 2 to get their fines cleared. Library officials also say of the 927,000 youth library cardholders, 161,000 have suspended borrowing privileges due to fines of more than $15. ![]() The JPB Foundation, library officials reveal, is putting up $2.25 million to make up the shortfall in revenue from the fines. The city's three library systems - the New York Public Library, the Queens Library and the Brooklyn Public Library - say they will forgive all fines for children aged 17 and under and and unblock their library cards. NEW YORK - Kids and teens are getting a clean slate at libraries across New York City starting Thursday in a one-time amnesty event.
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