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Springfield public libraries eliminate late fees

WAMC
The entrance to the Springfield City Library Mason Square Branch

Policy change is made to encourage more library patronage

People who hold on to a library book past the return due date no longer need to be concerned about paying a late fee in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Joining a national trend, the Springfield City Library has removed all late fines on library materials.

The Springfield Library Commission voted in 2019 to eliminate late fees, but because of disruptions to the library’s operations during the pandemic, the change in policy was not implemented until this month.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Springfield City Library Assistant Director Jean Canosa Albano.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.