It’s a penalty almost as old as the American public library system itself. You check a book out from your local library, and return it a few days — or weeks — past due. Then the fines accrue.
“If you’ve ever had to turn down a kid and tell them they can’t educate themselves because of their family’s income, it’s a terrible feeling,” said Arlington Hills Library worker A.J. Ragland, standing side-by-side with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.
The mayor on Wednesday delivered a brief budget address focused on the St. Paul Public Library system, and it boils down to no more late fines.
With an eye toward the disproportionate impact on low-income neighborhoods, the mayor is asking that the city council eliminate $2.5 million in uncollected debt to the library system, effective immediately. That would unlock 51,000 blocked library accounts.
In addition, the mayor proposed dedicating $215,000 next year to help the library system eliminate fines for overdue materials entirely. Currently, library users who fail to pay off their fines are blocked from borrowing books, CDs and other library collections, a penalty Carter hopes to make a thing of the past.
Carter said he has spoken with “people all over the city who have even admitted, somewhat embarrassed, that ‘I haven’t been to the library in years because I have late fees.’”
The mayor said the average fine is $33, but an unpaid fine of as little as $10 can get a library patron blocked.
But the mayor’s budget does not eliminate replacement fees. If cardholders lose a book or other item, they still have to pay for it. And, failure to return an item on time can still result in an account frozen.
The mayor delivered his remarks at the Rondo Community Library on Dale Street, which was recently reorganized to create a living room-style quiet room, children’s area and other dedicated spaces. He was joined by Library Director Catherine Penkert and City Council Member Jane Prince, who chairs the library board.
“We are unlocking the doors to this library,” said Carter, following remarks from a series of library workers.
Prince noted that the library system hasn’t had fines on chldren’s books for several years and they are returned at the same rate.
“Fines don’t impact behavior,” she said. “We will continue to make people pay for lost materials.”
The proposal will be reviewed by the library board and city council as they finish next year’s budget. If the proposal is adopted, the library will stop charging late fines in January.
In an interview, Joe Bagnoli, a lobbyist and volunteer with the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, pointed to a color-coded map of the city that highlighted areas with the largest number of blocked library accounts in dark blue. Not surprisingly, some of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods were the most blue.
“Why didn’t we know about this earlier, this fine issue? It’s an issue that once you’re aware of it, you know you ought to address it because of the disparate impact,” Bagnoli said.
“I compliment the mayor for addressing it.”
Daud Mohamed, who sits on the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library Board of Trustees, recalled growing up in the Summit-University neighborhood alongside many young Somali refugees.
“Some of my friends wouldn’t go into the library because they owed money and they felt uncomfortable,” he said. “Libraries have always been the unofficial term for opportunity — my mother learned how to speak English here.”
If the St. Paul City Council supports the mayor’s initiative, the capital city would join a growing number of municipalities that have done away with late fines altogether, including the Salt Lake City Public Library, Nashville Public Library and Eau Claire Public Library.
The St. Paul Library has created a webpage with links to research and articles about library systems that are jumping on board with the trend: tinyurl.com/StpFineFreelibrary.
A growing body of research suggests fines dissuade plenty of families from so much as browsing the aisles, while generating relatively little revenue to support the library system.
A white paper from the Colorado Department of Education and Colorado State Library system noted that in surveys, ethnographers found that “‘many families in low-income areas did not own a library card, or if they did, family members were reluctant to check out books because they feared having to pay overdue fines.'”
“The traditional practice of charging late fees has left a lasting impression on the very people who most need libraries: community members who are economically disadvantaged, many with young children at home,” states the paper, which noted “inconclusive evidence of the value of fines (in contrast to) indicators of the negative effects.”
Literally me in middle school. I forgot to return a book for like 3 months, would have been cheaper to just buy the library a new copy at that point so I just stopped using it.
— Anarcho-MolotovCocktailist (@realhnewhouse) August 29, 2018
READ BRAVE
In his address, the mayor also highlighted the library system’s expanded “Read Brave” program, which will distribute four books this year focused on housing for children and adults to read and discuss together. The program coordinates discussion groups and invites the authors to visit St. Paul and deliver remarks.
The young adult novel is “Burn Baby Burn,” by Meg Medina, which chronicles teen romance during the summer of 1977 when blackouts, a heat wave, and the Son of Sam serial killer put all of New York City on edge.
The non-fiction work is “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond, a Princeton University sociologist who writes about eight low-income families in Milwaukee, as well as their two landlords.
In addition, the library system will choose a children’s book and picture book for younger readers. Carter said his budget includes $156,000 to bolster the library system’s materials collection, including $10,000 to expand Read Brave.