The move to a fine-free NPL received overwhelming support from local government as well as from the library board, which officially endorsed the eradication of fines in February 2017. there is “still accountability,” said Waltenbaugh. If patrons have two more “lost” items on their account, their card will be frozen until they pay for or return the materials. In addition, once 31 days have passed after a due date, the materials will be considered “lost” and patrons will be billed. Patrons will still receive reminders when a due date approaches and when it has passed. This is a “huge percentage,” she said, and the library was eager to “bring patrons back to the library.” Library books in Nashville will still receive a due date, and librarians do not think that this shift will have a meaningful impact on whether or not patrons return materials on time. They discovered that as many as 50,000 cards were blocked at any given time, out of a total of 300,000 cardholders. TRADING MONEY FOR ACCESS According to Emily Waltenbaugh, public information officer with NPL, library staff were concerned about the number of accounts that had been blocked because of fines exceeding a $20 limit. For both systems, this shift reflects their missions to remove a barrier to library borrowing-blocked card privileges due to fines and to provide equitable access to as many patrons as possible. The SLCPL policy took effect July 1, while the Nashville policy started July 5. ![]() These changes will also wipe out fines that users have already accrued. Starting the first week of July 2017, the Nashville Public Library (NPL) and the Salt Lake City Public Library system (SLCPL) have joined the increasing number of public libraries in the United States that no longer collect overdue fines from patrons.
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