In a bold move, the Board of Trustees for the Canastota Public Library has voted to make the library fine-free. As of June 1, anyone who takes out materials and is unforeseeably late in getting those materials returned will not be charged a late fee.
“We have always wanted to encourage our patrons to grow through their love of reading but we feel that late fees can be discouraging,” said Liz Metzger, library director. “Just a few weeks ago, we had a teenaged patron stop in to use the library. When we asked her why she hadn’t been in recently, she told us she had overdue fees on her account that she couldn’t pay and was embarrassed by that.”
Oftentimes patrons who check out items and are a few days late can feel discouraged and hesitant to check out books again. Metzger noted that by eliminating late fees, the library can be more supportive of the community and its residents.
The library is encouraging patrons to sign up for email notifications which will help a patron remember when their items are due or in some cases, when their items are late. If patrons are interested in signing up for email notifications, they should call or visit the library. In cases where an item is overdue for a long period of time, the library will call to remind a patron of overdue materials. Lost and damaged items will still result in a charge to the patron’s account; however, once lost or damaged items are returned, replaced or paid for, the patrons can continue using the library’s services.
“We want to continue to be a place where the community is able to obtain the resources they need to excel in life,” Metzger said.
The Canastota Public Library offers printed books, magazines, online resources, DVDs, audio books and more. Generally, new books and music CDs circulate for two weeks, magazines circulate for one week, and DVDs circulate for two days while most other materials circulate for 28 days.
The Canastota Public Library joins more than 15 other libraries in the MidYork Library System who have stopped charging late fees for late items. The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center Street in Canastota.