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Subcommittee backs two-week library fine amnesty to boost returns and restore privileges
Summary
Deputy City Librarian Jill Born told supervisors a two-week amnesty in May would forgive late fees and help return materials and restore borrowing privileges; a Library Users Association speaker urged repeal of the $115 Link+ replacement cap and permanent elimination of fines.
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee on April 8 voted to forward a resolution to the full Board asking the Library Commission to establish a two-week amnesty period in May 2009 during which overdue fees for returned items would be forgiven, under Administrative Code section 8.21-3. Jill Born, Deputy City Librarian, said prior amnesty periods have successfully recovered materials and restored borrowing privileges, and that the program is intended to increase access rather than revenue.
Born described coordination with the budget analyst and said the program is not meant to increase revenue but to recover materials and reintegrate patrons into full library use. Committee members asked about the Link+ interlibrary loan replacement fee; Born explained Link+ sets a standard cap of $115 but in practice the library works with partner libraries to replace items at their actual replacement value and that the $115 functions as an upper limit.
Peter Warfield of the Library Users Association testified in support of amnesty and urged the Board to consider repealing the $115 cap and, ultimately, to consider eliminating fines altogether, describing fines as a barrier that disproportionately affects low-income, young and elderly patrons. "Fines and fees of all kinds are barriers to accessing library services and represent a regressiveness that falls the most harshly on those with the least resources," Warfield said.
Library staff described planned outreach using media, PSAs and posters, and agreed to report back to the Board after the amnesty to assess returns compared with foregone fines. The committee forwarded the item to the full Board with recommendation.
