No more late fees: Lexington Public Library decides to cut fines permanently
The Lexington Public Library has decided to no longer charge fees for overdue, lost or damaged property, the library announced Wednesday.
That means users of the Lexington Public Library will be able to check out material from the library without the threat of having to pay a fine if the property is lost, damaged or held past the loan period. The loan period for books and audio material is 28 days while the loan period for high-demand books, magazines, DVDs and ebooks ranges from 7 to 14 days.
The policy will permanently go into effect Thursday. Existing fines and fees on accounts will automatically be removed Thursday as well, granting users who were previously blocked from the library to access material again.
“We believe in free and equal access to information,” the library said in a press release. “Fines and fees pose an unnecessary barrier to those who most need access to our educational resources and technology.”
The library has been operating under the fine-free policy since March 2020 due to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The library said it has noticed an increase of users during that span and believes that fines and fees were not a motivator to get customers to return property.
“In fact, they negatively impacted the members of our community who need our services most,” the library wrote in a press release.
Wait times for material are expected to be the same, the library said.
