Links:
Automatic renewals make your life easier! Here’s how. (2025. February 6). Bucks County Free Library. Retrieved August 1, 2025, from https://buckslib.org/automatic-renewals-make-your-life-easier-heres-how/
Bowman, E. (2019, November 30). ‘We wanted our patrons back’–Public libraries scrap late fines to alleviate inequity. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/30/781374759/we-wanted-our-patrons-back-public-libraries-scrap-late-fines-to-alleviate-inequi
Carter, K. & Belser, D. (n.d.). How eliminating library fees advances racial equity. Urban Libraries Council. https://www.urbanlibraries.org/blog/how-eliminating-library-fees-advances-racial-equity
Fine-free toolkit. (2022, June). New Jersey Library Association. Retrieved August 1, 2025, from http://njlamembers.org/sites/njlamembers.org/files/Fine-Free%20Toolkit.pdf
Gerber, A. (2022, September 28). Fine farewells: LJ’s 2022 Fines and Fees Survey. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/Fine-Farewells-LJs-2022-Fines-and-Fees-Survey
@susanneritchie Awesome report, this is truly the dream!! My library forgives late fees so that patrons are not blocked from using computers or checking out additional items, and it seems to work out pretty well. I do wish that other libraries in our Consortium would do the same, as many of them have more funding than my library, relative to the size/service area, and as you pointed out, the late fees don’t usually account for much funding. So many people could benefit from this!
Hi Mollie,
That’s one of the frustrating things about consortia, isn’t it? I’m lucky that while my library isn’t fine-free, we’re empowered to make decisions about it when necessary. We can’t help with fines from any other library in our system, though and it breaks my heart to send someone away hoping they’ll have some success with whichever branch they need to talk to,
Hi Susanne,
Where I work in Jackson County in Southern Oregon, our library system has done away with all forms of late fines. It’s a very similar system to the one from San Diego Public Library that you shared, although for us patrons are prevented from checking out items once $25 in fees has been accrued. Additionally, they have implemented a sliding scale for replacement costs, where items 2-5 years old are only half the cost and anything older than 5 years carries no fine. It’s really interesting that Camden County noted such a significant increase in overdue items after implementing a fine-free system. It seems like not only do fees increase library anxiety, but a non-insignificant amount of people will just stop going to the library altogether instead of paying their overdue fees, which effectively removes both those lost items and patrons from the library.
Hi Ian,
You make a great point about losing both the patron and the item when they’re afraid of fees. I love that sliding scale idea! We unofficially consider the item’s age and condition on a case-by-case basis when deciding whether to charge someone for a lost item, but I really like the idea of having an official policy.