The Champaign Public Library’s Board of Trustees has voted to eliminate users’ late fines starting Aug. 15.
Existing overdue fines also will be waived.
“We trust that you are checking out items with the intention of bringing them back for others to use,” said a statement released by the library on Monday.
Materials are still expected to be returned by the due date. Items will be renewed up to 10 times, as long as the library does not have a request for it. If items are lost or damaged, replacement fees will be charged.
According to the library, “There are many reasons why we have decided to stop charging overdue fines, but the main one is that overdue fines are widely recognized as a form of social inequity. The American Library Association and others have confirmed that imposing fines neither teaches responsibility nor motivates borrowers to return items on time. Instead, charging fines makes people less likely to return to the library. It also can keep people, including families and children, from using the library in the first place if they fear being responsible for fines they cannot pay.”
The library’s statement termed the loss of revenue “minimal” and that the no-fines approach is more beneficial than the loss of revenue.
The library reopened in late June following the state’s move into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan.