Many local libraries have done away with fines for overdue materials.
Five years ago, the Albany Public Library system eliminated late fines in an effort to decrease barriers and increase access for all. Andrea Nicolay is APL's Executive Director
"Fines were never, they never really achieved what everyone thought they were achieving in terms of, you know, guilting people into returning library materials," Nicolay said. "It was really more, it created a barrier to using the library. There were plenty of people who never signed up for a library card in the first place, because they just didn't even want to incur that possibility of debt. What studies had shown is that the risk was even too great for people to sign up for in the first place, because they didn't want to look down the road and think like, 'Oh, I'm gonna lose these books, they're gonna become a problem for me.' So I think that fines and going fine-free has really eliminated that barrier."
Fine-forgiveness was a godsend for borrowers unable to visit the library during the pandemic, when many were shuttered. Voorheesville Public Library went fine-free during COVID and director Sarah Clark says they haven't looked back.
"Our revenue from fines was always less than 1% of our budget," said Clark. "One of the things that happened when we charged fines is, depending on where someone would go or who helped them, they might get their fines waived. Or they might be overridden in this as a way that we have equitable service for everybody who walks up to the desk, our circulation has gone up about 10% every year. And part of that is actually due to an increase in digital content, which never has any fines.”
Although worry-free for patrons, the popular alternative to checking out physical media troubled some library officials, like Phil Berardi, the Assistant Director for Library Operations at the Bethlehem Public Library, who suspected electronic borrowing might drive traditional lending down.
"We thought ebooks coming out of the pandemic, were going to be an anchor. In the pandemic, that was the option. So people had 100%, ebook access, and very limited, if not almost zero, physical item access. Coming out of the pandemic, you see that trend down over the months, 40% digital versus 60, physical. And now, years after we see that kind of stabilized between 25 and 30% of our circulation."
An official at Guilderland public library says its transition to a fine-free policy in 2022 has had an overall positive effect on the quality of the library experience and total circulation has increased by 7%.
Bethlehem Library went fine-free the same year. The William K. Sanford Town Library in Colonie is NOT fine-free. Director Elissa Valente: "So fines make up a percentage of our operating budget. So although this has been considered, it's not really something the library is able to manage. The library board has discussed it. It's not something that we feel would be the right choice for our residents," said Valente.
APL's Nicolay says alternative funding sources like renting out space in the library have made up for some of the revenue lost from fines, and its branches continue billing patrons for books and materials that are lost permanently. Back in Voorheesville, Clark says the goodwill that going fine-free had on the community overshadowed any income lost.
"It's taken some stress off of our frontline staff. I don't think anybody ever liked to tell people that they owed money when they came up to the desk, kind of not in our nature to throw barriers to our patrons. So I think, you know, taking that away from, you know, a library clerks responsibilities, I think has been something to help with morale," Clark said.
In February, the East Greenbush Community Library issued a "Report on the effectiveness of implementing a fine-free policy in 2023" that shows enhanced library access, with new sign-ups for library cards up 5% over the previous year, with an 18% increase in library cardholders overall. It concluded that "removing financial barriers has encouraged wider community engagement with the library."
Here is a link to the report:
East Greenbush Library Fine-Free 2023
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