To some they’re a nuisance, to others a burden.
To the patrons of the De Soto Library, they’re history: Fines for overdue books.
The library no longer fines people for overdue books, so its roughly 1,300 cardholders don’t have to worry anymore about that running tab of nickels and dimes turning into dollars for books they have kept too long.
As part of the new policy, which went into effect Feb. 10, the library is forgiving 100 percent of patrons’ overdue fines, regardless of how long they’ve been there.
The De Soto library is the first in Jefferson County to join the “fine-free” movement progressing around the country, librarian Tony Benningfield acknowledged, with a touch of pride.
“To my knowledge we are the first,” Benningfield said. “Last year is when I first heard about it (fine-free policies). And then I started doing more research into why (libraries) were doing it and why it was becoming such a big trend.
“(The idea) is to reduce barriers. It’s to get rid of that anxiety that causes people not to return stuff back to the library. Studies have shown (that) since libraries have gone fine-free, library usage increases, circulation numbers go up, return numbers go up, and it’s a win-win.”
De Soto’s daily fine for overdue books had been 5 cents. Some controls remain, however, under the library’s new policy. Once a book is out 120 days, it goes to “lost” status on a patron’s account. The patron must then return the book, or reimburse the library for the cost of the book, before he or she can check out another item. The library also continues to assess daily fines for expensive items checked out, such as one of the library’s three telescopes, available for one week at a time. “They’re $375 apiece and we want those back,” Benningfield said.
The same goes for the seven new Wi-Fi “hotspot” devices the library just started offering.
He said the impact of eliminating fines on his annual budget of about $330,000 will be minimal – “less than 1 percent, based on our new budget.”
He said he estimated the library forgave about $1,200 in standing fines.
Benningfield also related the decision to go fine-free to his own experience years ago when he was a patron of the Jefferson County Library’s High Ridge branch.
“I checked out four books from there and I was afraid to return them because I knew they were late,” he said. “I knew I was going to have to pay them money, and it delayed me going back to the library.”
He pointed out the socioeconomic dimension to it as well.
“I want anybody and everybody, regardless of how much money they have in their wallet, to use the library,” Benningfield said.
Linda Bean, president of the De Soto Library Board of Trustees, said the vote to go fine-free was unanimous, although the board had to overcome some initial doubt because imposing fines was such a longstanding policy.
“After we discussed it, we realized that probably it would work to get people to come back into the library,” Bean said.
“If you have a fine, come in, we’ll let that go and bring your (overdue) book in and then you can start using the library again.”
A growing trend
Both the St. Louis city and St. Louis County libraries recently went fine-free, as have dozens of major library systems across the country.
Just over a year ago, the American Library Association, noting that the “imposition of monetary library fines creates a barrier to the provision of library and information services,” adopted a resolution urging libraries “to scrutinize their practices of imposing fines on library patrons and actively move towards eliminating them.”
Pam Klipsch, director of the Jefferson County Library, said her library board has talked about going fine-free but is not close to making such a move yet.
“I’ve been aware of the movement for quite some time,” Klipsch said. “Research has shown that the people who are most impacted by fines are people, especially children, from low-income families who can’t afford the fines. So the first time they get an overdue book sometimes is the last time they come to the library, ever. And that of course is something that concerns us very much.
“We’re not quite there yet,” she added. “But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if in the next couple of years, that decision may be made.”
Klipsch said fines constitute, at the most, 10 percent of the county library’s revenue.
“It’s not a big part of our overall budget,” she said. “The majority of our income comes from property taxes we collect. We’re trying to assess how it (going fine-free) would affect our operations. My board is very careful about money and they don’t want to eliminate a source of income if they think it would have a negative impact on the library. We have to convince them first.”
Klipsch also noted that the Jefferson County Library, which had nearly 58,000 cardholders at the end of 2019, encourages patrons with accumulated fines to come in and work out a resolution for their account.
“We’ll negotiate with people if they have a hard time coming up with the money,” she said. “We can find ways to get around that.”
The library’s three branches – Arnold, Northwest (High Ridge) and Windsor (Imperial) – also hold a “Food for Fines” event on the last weekend of each month, in which patrons may donate canned goods and reduce their accumulated fines by $1 for each can donated.
“We’ve been doing (Food for Fines) for 15 years,” Klipsch said. “We’ve forgiven a significant amount of fines that way. The (local) food pantries are very appreciative.”
The new director of the Festus Public Library, Elizabeth Steffen, said going fine-free has come up for discussion in board of trustees meetings, with no action taken.
“It does seem like there are a lot of libraries that are heading that way,” Steffen said.
“We haven’t had any kind of formal talks about it; it’s kind of on the radar but I don’t see implementing it anytime soon. There are arguments for it and arguments against it.
“I think it’s a good idea. I don’t think (fines) bring in a whole lot of revenue for us; it’s not a huge moneymaker.”