The library will be extending this fine forgiveness period for the next six months to see if it will be a sustainable way to run the library. This extended forgiveness period will only apply at Orange Beach, and only for Orange Beach card holders. Officials there hope it will become permanent.
“Fines may be keeping some of our local population from using the library,” Director Steven Gillis said. “Ten cents or 50 cents a day may seem reasonable, but sometimes it is a significant deterrent. A struggling family that may really need access to our children’s collection may want to check out 30 or 40 books for the kids, but one day late and that can be three or four dollars.
“Personally, I’ve had times in my life when those three dollars mattered. During those times in my life, my public library was more important to me than ever.”
The library gets about 1 percent of its budget from fines. That 1 is important is important, Gillis said. Every dollar that is brought in through fines goes right back on the shelf as a book, DVD, or CD.
To help support a “Fine Free Library,” when fines are waived at the desk for Orange Beach Library card holders, staff will inform them of the amount being waived, and ask for a donation. There will never be any obligation to pay, and unlike fines donations can be tax deductible.
This project will be closely monitored by library staff, not only to see if the donation amounts are comparable to fines, but to make sure the return rate of books does not change. Items need to be returned in a timely manner so that the next patron will have access; and access to information and entertainment is the modern library’s primary mission.
Fines will still appear on an Orange Beach Library patron’s account as normal, but stop in and all will be forgiven. This is true no matter how old the fine is, officials just want materials returned, and the individual back as a library patron.
If a book is lost or damaged, the library will still have to charge a patron the cost of the book so that we can replace the item or keep the value of that item in the collection by purchasing something else that may be more in demand than that 1983 cookbook that was lost way back in 1994.
“Please help us become a Fine Free Library by specifically stating that a donation is being made to support this effort, and by returning books quickly,” Gillis said. “Still, when you are running late or odd things come up, it will be nice to know that we’re always ready to forgive.”
