Since the beginning of the economic downturn, librarians across the country have speculated that fines for overdue items are keeping people from using the library — particularly large families whose children take out (and forget to return) many books at a time. Some libraries learned that the fines, which are often as low as 25 cents an item per day, quickly multiplied for many people and were becoming an added hardship.
“We can’t push the cost to consumers because they’re also struggling,” said Richard Sosa, the finance director of the Denver system, which has $9 million worth of books in circulation through 23 libraries and two bookmobiles. “The library philosophy is: We do not want to restrict access to information. The use of fines or harsh collection tactics — and we could potentially do that — could essentially restrict people’s access to the library.”
Libraries mentioned in this article include:
+ Joliet [IL} Public Library
+ Palos Park [IL} Public Library
+ Denver Public Library
+ Conneaut [OH] Public Library
+ Audrey Pack [TN] Memorial Library
+ Monterey County [CA] Free Library System
+ Pelham [NH] Public Library
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