Bookworms who live in Salt Lake City, Utah, will be pleased to learn that, on July 1st, the Salt Lake City Public library will be doing away with fees for overdue books. A press release recently published states: “Starting July 1, overdue fines at the Salt Lake City Public Library will be filed under the Dewey Decimal class 930 — ancient history.”
As local news site 2KUTV reports, patrons will no longer be charged 20 cents a day for overdue books or 50 cents a day for overdue movies. As the press release states, the decision was approved by the library’s board of directors who felt such a measure would encourage people to keep using the library.
“Under this fine structure, a parent who checks out a dozen books and two movies would owe $2.90 per day late — in just one week, that adds up to $23.80 in overdue fines. The potential for taking on a large fine for a small infraction can keep community members from taking full advantage of their library’s collection, checking out fewer materials in order to keep their fine risk low. Others choose not to use their library at all.”
In a letter to the Board, City Library Executive Director Peter Bromberg suggested fines are “in opposition to the Library’s core values of quitable service, fostering early literacy, and barrier-free access to information and services,”
“Fines have not been shown to be an effective deterrent to the late return of materials,” Bromberg wrote. “However, fines have been shown to act as an inequitable barrier to service, disproportionately impacting children and community members with the least financial resources.”
It is estimated the library will lose around $75,000 in yearly revenue following the ban on fines, which makes up 0.3 percent of the Library’s $22.4 million budget. No doubt many readers across the globe will be hoping their local library follows suite.
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