King County Library System to discontinue late fines for overdue items
Sunday, April 30, 2023
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| Shoreline Library photo by Steven H. Robinson |
ISSAQUAH, Wash. — April 27, 2023 — Beginning May 9, the King County Library System(KCLS) will stop charging late fines for library items that are overdue. They will also clear all late fine accruals from patron accounts. KCLS’ Board of Trustees approved these changes on April 26.
Last year, the Board asked staff to analyze the impact of late fines. KCLS staff gathered and reviewed relevant data for six months, and presented their findings to the board on March 29.
The presentation included the following highlights:
- Late fines worsen inequality and discourage library use. Individuals with low-income and limited access to transportation and technology are most impacted.
- Late fines generate little revenue. In recent years, fines made up less than 1% of KCLS’ operating budget.
- Late fine revenue continues to decrease over time. This trend correlates with patrons’ interest in more digital and fewer physical items. Digital titles return automatically and do not accrue late fines.
- Collecting fines from patrons also has costs. Associated expenses include staff time, payment processing fees, printing notices and more.
- A majority of peer libraries have eliminated late fines.
Replacement fees are different from late fines. If library materials are more than 60 days overdue, they are considered lost. KCLS must still charge replacement fees for lost, damaged and missing items, as required by state law.
Founded in 1942, the King County Library System (KCLS) is one of the busiest public library systems in the country. Supporting the communities of King County (outside the city of Seattle), KCLS has 50 libraries and serves nearly 1.6 million people.
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3 comments:
Ahh, the age old dilemma of expecting people to show responsibility.
Of course this will encourage people to be lax about returning books on time, which will end up hurting poor people the most - people who have to rely on the library for their reading material, which will not be returned when due. Talk about unintended consequences!
It's going to get really interesting waiting in line to borrow popular items. Without a fine, there's nothing to motivate someone to return the item after a single four week borrowing period.
Need to take 11 weeks to read the new novel by whomever? Go ahead and dither. You won't pay a dime for holding up the line.
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