Late Fines Eliminated At LA County Libraries
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Book lovers, rejoice! Late fines have been eliminated from LA County Libraries.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday from Supervisor Janice Hahn to immediately eliminate late fines from the county's 86 branches.
"Library late fines do much more harm than good," Hahn said in a statement. 'They make up less than 1% of the Library's revenue and they can dissuade people from using the Library's service."
All fines and fees for overdue books and other library materials will be waived effective immediately. Fines for overdue library materials were originally implemented as a source of revenue, but they make up a minuscule percentage of the library's revenue and staffing costs associated with collecting late fees exceeds the fees collected in the past two fiscal years.
LA County is just the latest large library system to move to a fine-free model. In recent years, libraries in the city of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, and Denver have also adopted a fine-free model – and a release from Hahn's office says research shows such policies have led to a 200% increase in returned library books and other materials.