To the Editor:

As the directors of the Guilderland Public Library and the Altamont Free Library, we have the honor of leading two very different libraries.

The Altamont Free Library has a collection of less than 14,000 items, a budget of $165,000, and occupies just 2,000 square feet in a historic train station. The Guilderland Public Library has a collection of well over 100,000 items, a budget in the millions of dollars, and has recently completed an expansion of its now state-of-the-art facility.

Despite our superficial differences, we are far more similar than we may seem. We share a strong commitment to the community we both serve. We share a tax base from which we both receive support.

Most importantly, we share a set of values, one of which is a commitment to making sure that the materials in our libraries are as accessible as possible to every member of our community.

In the past several years, libraries across the country have begun to recognize that late fees charged for overdue items can create barriers between people and their libraries. For some, overdue fines — usually 10 cents or 25 cents per item per day overdue — are not difficult to bear.

However, these fees can add up quickly. When they do,  overdue fines can become a burden — particularly for those who can least afford them.

Owing library fines can be a source of shame and anxiety, and may keep people from continuing to use their libraries. Often, those who carry fines on their accounts are the same people who need access to their libraries the most.

In the spirit of creating more equitable and accessible libraries for all, we are proud to announce that our two libraries are eliminating overdue fines.

In doing so, we are joining 20 other local libraries, including the Voorheesville and Albany public libraries, and countless others nationwide in recognizing that overdue fines represent an unnecessary barrier between the community and the items we hold and have purchased with taxpayers’ support.

Now, this doesn’t mean people are free to keep library materials forever. If items are more than 30 days overdue, a charge for the replacement cost of the overdue items will be applied to the cardholder’s account.

Individuals will not be able to check out additional items or renew the materials they hold until these fees are cleared. This can happen by returning the items in good condition or paying the replacement charge for a lost or damaged item.

In addition, we will be forgiving all existing overdue fines, effective immediately. Our hope is this will encourage those who have been carrying fines to begin using the library once again and taking advantage of all we offer.

Our libraries have been moving in this direction for some time now. Altamont did away with overdue fines on children’s materials in 2020 and expended that policy to include young-adult materials in 2021. Guilderland hasn’t charged overdue fines since the beginning of the pandemic.

We have had good results with these incremental or temporary practices, and this new policy will merely extend or make permanent what we have been doing already.

We believe, and many studies have proven, that library users are primarily motivated to care for and return items on time out of an understanding that library resources belong to the entire community, and other people deserve an opportunity to use them.

Fear of incurring financial penalties is just not an effective motivator. Because of this, we do not expect this new policy to result in empty library shelves or a noticeable decline in the quality of library service.

The experience of other libraries that have eliminated overdue fines has been almost uniformly positive. When the Chicago Public Library eliminated overdue fines in 2019, it reported that long-overdue materials came back to the library and library-card renewals hit an all-time high. Many other libraries have reported similar results.

If the past two years have taught us anything, it is that public libraries are essential to helping maintain strong communities. Amid the many disruptions of the pandemic era, the misinformation and confusion we encounter online, the rising costs of nearly everything, and the chaos and tumult of the world, libraries remain a welcoming, inclusive, calming, and empowering refuge. 


We hope that, by breaking down the barrier of overdue fines, we will welcome in new patrons, bring back old friends, and spread the message that libraries belong to all of us.

Tim Wiles

Director

Guilderland

Public Library

Joe Burke

Director

Altamont

Free Library