If you’ve been holding onto an overdue library book and haven’t returned it because of the embarrassment of tardiness or the financial balance you’ve incurred, then it’s your lucky day.
The Concord Public Library announced last week that all fines will be frozen for the next twelve months, beginning Tuesday. Patrons who have racked up penalties for late materials can now return them charge-free.
“We’re hoping to see some items that maybe we haven’t seen in a long time return because the patrons maybe didn’t want to pay for them, or they didn’t want the stigma, or they couldn’t afford them, or whatever the case may be,” said Library Director Todd Fabian.
He also hopes the change will bring back patrons who have stopped frequenting the library.
“We want as many people as possible to have access,” he added.
Beyond that, the fine-free test period will allow the library to collect data on the effectiveness of this new system.
“We have no data expectations. We want to see people back and an increase in, hopefully, circulation and new card registrations and people renewing their cards,” he said.
Other fine-free libraries haven’t collected comprehensive enough data to allow Concord to make a permanent decision, which is why Fabian hopes the next year will provide a good snapshot of the effects of eliminating fines.
Fine suspensions first took place in Concord during the pandemic, with charges reinstated after a couple of years when people stopped returning items as frequently, Fabian said.
“The only barrier to library service will be a lost or damaged item, or more than five overdue items,” the library’s updated policy states. If a patron has at least five late items, they still need to return an item to have the temporary block on their account removed.
Different items previously incurred different levels of fines. Adult and children’s books, magazines and CDs accrued $0.25 of debt for each day they were late. New adult books cost $0.50, as did DVDs.
