Following suit with other libraries in Rhode Island, the Warwick Public Library will soon eliminate late fines for all of its children and teens’ items.

Approved by the library’s Board of Trustees on June 27, the decision to remove these fines is a recent trend among libraries in the Ocean State as well as across the nation. The Cranston Public Library, the Providence Public Library and the Providence Community Library have all eliminated fines for all items in the children and teen category; this includes books, audiobooks, music CDs, non-fiction DVDs, children’s feature films and Blu-rays.

As part of the library’s current fine policy, patrons who owe large amounts of fines are no longer able to check out library materials until their debt is paid. However, eliminating these fines would allow patrons to continue checking out books and returning to the library, which would hopefully bring in overdue patrons who have been isolated due to their outstanding fines.

The idea of removing these fines is a recent development, with the proposal being introduced to the Warwick Library’s Board of Trustees only a few months ago.

Chris LaRoux, the Library Director of the Warwick Public Library, initially learned of this widespread fine removal effort at the Public Library Association Conference of 2018. Held in Philadelphia this past March, the annual conference was a platform for library staff, trustees, and educators from all over the nation to share ideas and new discoveries. Many meetings and presentations were held with the goal of improving the systems currently used in public libraries. Libraries across America have been attempting to eliminate fines for children’s items, LaRoux discovered.

After the Warwick Library’s Board of Trustees was introduced to the idea, research was conducted on the effects of removing children’s fines in other libraries across the nation. The positive effects noted in other libraries, such as an increased number of returning patrons, were determined to far outweigh any negative repercussions, of which there were few.

The process of eliminating these fines has just begun; as it is a lengthy process, it is difficult to predict exactly how the decision will influence the library and its future. However, based on the trials of other libraries attempting this process, coupled with past experiences of the Warwick Library, rough estimates can be made as to the changes this decision will cause.

As of press time, 6,710 children and teens under the age of 18 have library cards; of those, 2,490 are estimated to be unable to use their library card due to owing money.

According to Jana Stevenson, Warwick Public Library’s Deputy Director, said approximately $7,000 in children and teen fines will be eliminated once the program is fully implemented in autumn. Annually, about $38,000 a year is garnered in library fines from all library materials, which is then put into the city’s general fund.

The main goals of this decision are to promote library access to anyone under the age of 18 in Warwick, and to encourage patrons to return items regardless of how late they are. While late fees in the past have made patrons feel too embarrassed to return materials that have accumulated high fines, eliminating fines will allow them to return to using the library as soon as possible.

A common concern among librarians, said Stevenson, is that the elimination of fines will take away the incentive for patrons to return their materials in a timely fashion. However, this has not been the case in libraries observed across the nation and in Rhode Island, who have seen their materials being returned with the same regularity as before the fines were removed.

The various new additions to the library’s children and teen sections are reason enough to encourage younger patrons to return; new carpeting has been installed in both the Children’s and Teenspace sections, as well as many new online ebook programs such as Tumble Books, and Hoopla. Virtual Reality software and programs are also available to teens only.

Getting the news out to patrons with fines is difficult, as many believe that they are no longer allowed to utilize the library due to their debt. The new changes in the fine policy will ideally encourage them to return to the library’s community once they are permitted to access materials once again.

The fine elimination will apply only to materials belonging to the Warwick Library; it will not apply to materials borrowed from other libraries through the interloan system.

The Cranston, Warwick, and Providence Public Libraries, the three largest libraries in the state in terms of patrons, are all either in the process of or have already succeeded in eliminating these fines. Stevenson hopes that other libraries in Rhode Island will follow their example, leading to the elimination of children and teen fines in all Ocean State libraries.

The Rogers Free Public Library of Bristol has previously eliminated fees for all library materials for children, teens, and adults, with the sole exception of DVDs. There have been no major disadvantages to this system yet reported.

No other Ocean State libraries have publicly announced plans to eliminate fines as of yet.