To Fine or Not to Fine

The Julia L. Butterfly in Cold Spring was recently named the only four-star library in the Mid-Hudson System, an honor based on its service to patrons. Nevertheless, I was surprised to read the following note about a recent policy change there.

No More Fines: The Julia L. Butterfield Library in Cold Spring will no longer charge fines for items that are returned late. "I simply don't see a need to charge fines in our community," says Library Director Gillian Thorpe. "The majority of our patrons understand that the Library items belong to the whole community and they return borrowed materials quickly," she adds. Thorpe explains that the Library's goal is to share information and resources, not to punish the users. "We hope this simple change will make a difference to our patrons," she says. There will be a "guilt jar" on the front desk for those who choose to contribute something to the Library and any lost or broken items will still be billed for replacement value.

Last year the Pleasant Valley Free Library received about $20,000 in fines. While that is less than 7% of the total Library budget, it is an essential component--we received about as much income from fines as we spent on nonprint items, which includes all the CDs and DVDs. This is reasonable as the largest part of the fine income also comes from nonprint items. While I congratulate the Julia L. Butterfield library for their desire to treat patrons as responsible, I don't think that the Pleasant Valley Library could take that step without cutting important services.

My own feeling about paying fines has always been that it one way I actually help the Library, so long as I don't abuse the system by keeping popular items out of circulation for extended periods of time. However, my fines are usually less than a dollar or not much more. I might feel differently if I were to take out several nonprint items and have to pay fines on being weeks overdue with the whole batch.