Fairfield library adopts fine-free policy for overdue materials

FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield Public Library has announced it will stop charging patrons fines for overdue materials.

Library Director Alecs Schmidt Mickunas announced the policy change this week, and said it will become effective Jan. 1. The Fairfield Public Library Board of Trustees unanimously approved the policy change at its meeting Nov. 21, and the Fairfield City Council approved the change as well during its meeting Nov. 28.

Mickunas said Fairfield will join 238 libraries in Iowa that have adopted a similar fine-free policy for late materials. He said the Fairfield library takes in about $8,500 in late fees annually, though he hopes that the library will be able to make up that shortfall through increased donations. He also expects the policy to encourage more people to use the library.

“It was previously thought that fines for late materials served as an incentive for borrowers to return materials in a timely manner,” Mickunas said. “However, research started over five decades ago has shown that this is not true. Moreover, fines for late materials are a barrier to access for our community members that cannot afford to pay these fines. It is hoped that the library’s new policy will encourage more citizens to utilize the library’s resources without fear of fines for late materials.”

With the new policy, borrowers will still be expected to return materials by their due date in the same general condition they were in when they were checked out. A new loan schedule detailing by which date overdue materials will be marked lost will be made readily available to the public. After a certain length of time, an item will be marked lost, and borrowers will be expected to pay the cost of the replacement item or return the item in order to check out additional materials. A replacement cost of $10 will block an account until it’s returned to good standing.

Mickunas appeared before the council Monday, and council members asked him if this fine-free policy resulted in more overdue materials at the other libraries where it has been tried.

“The answer I gave them is that, in the short-term, it appears to increase overdue materials, but in the long-term, it results in fewer overdue items, and fewer items go to ‘lost’ status,” Mickunas said.

Mickunas explained that, under the current system of imposing fines, patrons with overdue materials are embarrassed to return them to the library. He said it’s also no fun for the librarians to ask patrons for money.

“If a borrower has a material out for a long time and they’re aware they have this big fine, and they might think it’s bigger than it really is, they just keep the book and never come back to the library,” he said. “There are stories across the country of libraries adopting this fine-free policy, and in the first week, literally hundreds of books are returned to the library.”

Mickunas said he wants patrons to know that if they have overdue materials, or even materials previously marked “lost,” they can return them to the library’s book drop and their account will go back in good standing so they can check out materials again.

“We’re just happy to have the books back,” he said.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com