DeKalb County Public Library to Go Fine-Free

Begin­ning Fri­day, July 1, 2022, DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library (DCPL) joins a grow­ing list of libraries across the nation no longer charg­ing over­due fines. Research con­duct­ed by the Amer­i­can Library Asso­ci­a­tion deter­mines fines are a bar­ri­er to equi­table access and dis­pro­por­tion­ate­ly affect low-income users, par­tic­u­lar­ly chil­dren and fam­i­lies. The report also revealed fines do not moti­vate returns, they actu­al­ly con­tribute to non-use.

“At DCPL, we believe elim­i­nat­ing over­due fines will encour­age more fam­i­lies to use the library,” says Library Direc­tor Ali­son Weissinger. ​“Fam­i­lies and chil­dren need the resources of the library now more than ever.”

Going Fine-Free will not mean patrons won’t have to bring their mate­ri­als back to the library. Items will have a due date and mate­ri­als will need to be returned. Fees will still be incurred for lost or dam­aged items and Inter­li­brary Loan items.

Stud­ies of libraries that have elim­i­nat­ed fines show there has been no impact on return rates. In fact, going Fine-Free can even increase use of library materials. 

Staff at each DCPL loca­tion will work with patrons to under­stand the changes.

Addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion can be found online at dekalbli​brary​.org/​f​i​n​e​-free.