Northern Tier Library eliminates late fines
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Northern Tier Regional Library eliminated fines as of Sept. 1. This decision comes as the result of an ongoing initiative to make libraries more accessible to the public.
The Allegheny County Library Association piloted the program in September 2019 in nine of its member libraries, including Millvale, Monroeville and Penn Hills. The second phase launched in November 2019 with the addition of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny, East Liberty and Knoxville locations.
“Often if you accumulate a certain amount of fines, you can no longer use your library card and you lose access to the library. For people who are financially strapped that can be a problem — all of the sudden you can’t come to the library and get these materials for free,” Northern Tier Library director Diane Illis said.
ACLA looked at the impact of this on the public and launched its three month pilot program to see how it affected the budget and circulation. Circulation increased and the most any library involved in the program lost from eliminating fines was three percent of its total budget.
“We looked at the data, we studied it, and at this point the Carnegie Library system is completely fine-free and all of the libraries that neighbor us are fine-free, so we thought that it was only fair to our patrons to make the change. We want our residents to have the same access to the library as everyone else, so we’re going fine-free,” Illis said.
The fines collected in the past make up less than half of a percent of Northern Tier’s total budget. Automatic renewals have helped to cut down on the amount of fines collected as well. Patrons can renew a book up to six times unless requested by another person. Individuals will still be responsible for the cost of replacing a lost or damaged book.
“We’re really excited about going fine-free,” Illis said. “I’m excited because I think it’s going to make things less stressful for our patrons because we are part of the Allegheny County Library system and we want to make the experience as cohesive as we can. I know that people go from one library to another and I want to make it as seamless as possible.”