Oak Park Library Won't Fine Cardholders For Overdue Books Starting June 1

OAK PARK, IL — Starting June 1 of next year, the Oak Park Public Library will not be fining its customers for overdue books, according to a memo from David Seleb, the library’s executive director.

The Chicago Tribune talked to Seleb and reported that he said managing overdue fines is time-consuming and, in a way, irrelevant, since the library doesn’t need to extra money to operate.

“This recommendation aligns with our library’s philosophy of service model that includes values of access and equality,” Seleb wrote in his memo. “Fines are a regressive method of raising revenue. They impact the most those who can least afford them. They run contrary to our work to eliminate barriers to service.”

Though items will still have a due date — and patrons will still be responsible for returning or renewing them — Oak Park Library cardholders won’t be fined unless the item is 42 days old. At that point, they’ll receive a bill for that item and not be able to check out anything else from the library until it’s either returned or paid for.

If something is six months overdue, Seleb said, it will be deleted from the library’s system and must be paid for by the cardholder.

Library Board President Matt Baron told the Tribune fines only account for 2 percent of the library’s total operating revenue. That tallies up to just $170,000 of a $7.7-million budget this year.

“The timing was right to make this move,” Baron said. “We had plenty of big-picture and granular questions for staff, but they were all addressed to our satisfaction.”

--

Image via Shutterstock