Before the Chicago Public Library erased fees, one in three residents who lived in the library’s South District owed more than $10 in fines and were blocked from checking out resources.Ĭhicago's public library system eliminated fines in 2019 and saw "immediate" results, a library official said. In 2020, when the Seattle Public Library dropped fines, chief librarian Marcellus Turner said such fees were a “roadblock to the people who stand to benefit the most from free Library resources, such as teens and low-income families.”Īnd nearly every library that has done away with fines claimed that residents in low-income areas disproportionately made up patrons whose cards had been blocked. The major cities that have eliminated fines so far have named equitable access as their chief reason for the move. Fines have been used to support and maintain libraries, but they’re not always reliable, especially if they’re never paid. There’s little evidence that fines incentivize library patrons to return materials – research on the efficacy of fines linked to book returns hasn’t been conducted since 1983, according to a study from Syracuse University’s iSchool Public Libraries Initiative. Library fines impact low-income communities more than others Initial responses to the fee drop have been promising: Tuesday, the same day the NYPL announced it would drop all fines, saw the second-highest number of online library card sign-ups this year, Marx said. Accruing replacement fees may result in a blocked card, but even those whose cards are blocked will still be able to access library computers and digital materials, according to the NYPL. If they lose something – materials are considered lost after a month – they’ll be expected to pay a replacement fee unless they return it. (The Queens Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library also announced this week they’d eliminate fines.) Under the new rules, no library patrons will have to pay a late fee if they return something late. ![]() With branches in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, the NYPL serves more than 3.4 million New Yorkers. “Fines – which aren’t even an effective incentive for book returns – are an obstacle to that mission, and removing them is the right thing to do.” “The Library’s mission is to connect all people with knowledge and opportunity,” Marx told CNN. Now that the library is fine-free, NYPL officials hope more patrons will feel comfortable checking out materials. People study in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library (NYPL) in July. Marx told CNN that of the 400,000 New Yorkers who would have fallen under the $15 fine card block, more than half of them live in “high-needs communities.” The 10 branches with the highest percentage of blocked cards are located in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, Marx said, and one in five cardholders who live there were blocked and could not check out more materials. ![]() Those fines accumulate over time, and if a patron amasses enough, the library cuts them off and blocks their library card (in the case of the New York Public Library, or NYPL, at least $15 in fines would result in a card block). Library patrons are typically fined if they hold onto a book or another item they checked out after they’re due. Library access to books, computers and other materials is usually free – unless you forget to bring something back. What a fine-free public library looks like “The public library is a community service and a common good, and one that should always seek ways to increase access so that everyone can participate,” Woodworth told CNN. The goal of eliminating the fines, New York Public Library president Tony Marx said, is to remove barriers to the city’s libraries, encourage reading among more New Yorkers and move toward “a more equitable society.”Īndy Woodworth, a librarian in New Jersey who runs the advocacy website End Library Fines, said that getting rid of library fines and fees is in keeping with the mission of libraries as community pillars that champion equitable access – they’re not meant to be exclusive, punishing places. Will these venerable public institutions get the credit they deserve? Many turned to libraries during the pandemic for free Wi-Fi and other services.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |