TABE Practice Test 8

Drop the Fines, Open the Doors

¹Every year, the Carver County Public Library collects about $38,000 in late fines. To some people, that sounds like a useful source of money. To me, it sounds like a toll¹ on the very people a public library is supposed to serve. It is time for the county board to end late fines for good.

²Fines are supposed to teach responsibility. In practice, they mainly teach some families to stay away. A parent who owes $12 for a stack of overdue picture books cannot check out anything new until the debt is paid. For a family living paycheck to paycheck, $12 may mean choosing between the library and groceries. A child who cannot borrow books over the summer may fall behind by fall. Not surprisingly, the library's own records show that most blocked accounts belong to people in the county's two lowest-income neighborhoods.

³Supporters of fines argue that without them, books will never come back. The evidence suggests otherwise. When the nearby Bridgeport library stopped charging fines three years ago, its staff tracked returns closely. Most items still came back within a few weeks of the due date, and many patrons who had been blocked returned with long-lost books in hand once their debts were erased. People, it turns out, return books mostly because they are asked to, not because they fear a fine.

⁴Fines also cost more to collect than many people realize. Every dollar requires staff time: printing notices, answering complaints, processing small payments at the desk. One clerk estimates that she spends several hours each week on fine disputes alone. Our librarians are trained to help residents find jobs, research health questions, and learn new technology. They should not spend their afternoons arguing over forty-cent charges.

⁵Some board members worry that dropping fines will leave a hole in the budget. That concern deserves a serious answer. Thirty-eight thousand dollars is less than one percent of the library's yearly budget, and part of that amount is already eaten up by the cost of collecting it. A small savings elsewhere, or a modest grant, could cover the difference. Libraries already apply for such grants each year.

⁶Others say that ending fines rewards bad behavior. But borrowers would still be responsible for the books they keep. Under the plan I support, an item that is two months overdue would be treated as lost, and the borrower would be billed for a replacement until it is returned. A borrower who brings the item back would owe nothing, and the bill would disappear. The library keeps its collection; families keep their access.

⁷A public library is one of the few places left where anyone can walk in, sit down, and learn without paying. A late fine undercuts that promise. Fines were meant to protect the collection. Today they mostly protect a habit. Carver County should join the growing number of libraries that have chosen open doors over overdue notices.