SWAMPSCOTT — The library has decided to go fine-free and expunge any past-due fines from patrons’ records.
The Swampscott Public Library has announced that it won’t fine patrons for overdue material anymore.
“They don’t encourage people to bring materials back as much as we once thought they did. So we just decided that it was time to do away without them,” said Jennifer Inglis, interim director. “It is so easy to forget to bring a book back and then you get embarrassed. We don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed.”
It is becoming a trend across the country to cancel fines for overdue books, said Inglis, as they are viewed as a penalty. Research showed that fines deter people from coming to the library. In 2019, the American Library Association adopted a Resolution on Monetary Library Fines as a Form of Social Inequity.
The Swampscott Public Library is also a member of NOBLE— North of Boston Library Exchange — a consortium of libraries in the area that facilitates borrowing materials from other libraries. During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, NOBLE waived the fines, but later the member libraries started to reinstitute fines.
“It was a really good time to examine why we do it and the cost to the community,” said Inglis.
She garnered the support of the Swampscott Public Library Board of Trustees and the town administrator for the policy change.
“For the small cost to the town, it is a really good public service,” Inglis said.
The library used to charge two cents for an overdue children’s book and five cents per an adult book, which would add up to about $1,400 per year. Some families borrow up to 20 children’s books at a time, Inglis said, so for some patrons fines could get costly if they don’t return the books and go on a vacation, for example.
In addition, the library will be removing past-due fines for Swampscott Public Library items from patrons’ records. Replacement fees will still apply for materials that are not returned at all, and the patron’s records will be blocked until the item is returned (without a penalty) or paid for.
Fines and fees for items borrowed from other libraries might still apply as they are set by the owning library.
For questions, call the Swampscott Public Library at 781-596-8867.
