Library Eliminates Overdue Fines Starting October 1

The Kawartha Lakes Public Library’s mission is to provide easy access to our resources and to encourage literacy and learning. The Library has taken a historic step in further removing barriers to service for our users. Effective October 1, 2020, the Kawartha Lakes Public Library Board has approved the removal of late fines from borrowed materials returned after the due date.

Over the past several years library systems throughout North American have been eliminating late fines. Here in Ontario, Newmarket, Brampton and Barrie libraries, amongst others, have all stopped charging overdue fines. Throughout Canada and the United States many large systems, such as Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, San Francisco, Phoenix and Chicago have all followed suit. More and more it is seen that late fines punish those who most need our resources and stand in the way of the core library value of providing equitable library service.

While it might seem like removing late fines would discourage borrowers from returning items, the opposite has been found to be true. In a study of nine libraries that eliminated fines, there was no marked increase in late returns, longer wait times for holds or gaps in their collections. Instead, these libraries saw an increase in the number of borrowed items, fewer lost items and an increase in the number of active library members.

As of October 1, 2020 library materials returned after their due date will not be levied overdue fines. All late fines currently on members’ accounts will be waived at the end of September. However, the Library will still be charging members for lost or damaged items.

In a report prepared for the Library Board, staff noted that sometimes parents were worried about getting a library card for their kids because they feared that the family might incur large fines on multiple accounts. Other patrons would simply stop using the library because they couldn’t pay their fines, or were embarrassed to have them.

“Our mission is to create a welcoming and inclusive library system for everyone. Late fines definitely are a deterrent for people trying to access resources within our community. By removing late fines and forgiving current fines we are sending out a strong message that the library is here for everyone, especially as our communities slowly recover from this pandemic” says Library Board Chair Sue Ferguson.

While individual overdue fines may seem quite low, with the daily fines for books typically 20 cents per day and $1 a day for a dvd, this can quickly add up for a family with a couple of children.

“Just having 8 picture books for the kids, a couple of novels and 3 dvds come due at the same time would lead to fines of $5 a day. It’s easy to see how this could be a huge barrier to a family that might be struggling to make ends meet,” says Library Director Jamie Anderson.

In 2019, the library took in $9,000 in overdue fines. This amount accounted for only 0.5% of the library’s entire budget. The amount of revenue generated annually has been decreasing substantially over the last several years. Between 2015 and 2019 revenues from late fines have decreased by more than 45%.

The Kawartha Lakes Public Library Board sees the elimination of overdue fines as a positive step forward for our community. We hope to welcome back many members who have been staying away due to fears over late fines.

For more information on our fine-free service, please visit www.kawarthalakeslibrary.ca/finefree. For updates on all our services, please visit us at www.kawarthalakeslibrary.ca or call 705-324-9411, ext. 1291.