Posted on December 4, 2019 at 7:57 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

You may have missed it, but at the beginning of the year, the American Library Association passed a resolution urging libraries to find ways to eliminate overdue fines.

Library districts across the country, including San Diego and Chicago, have done so (in addition to wiping out outstanding balances, in these cities' cases) — and report satisfaction with the results, according to NPR.

San Diego and Chicago officials both noticed that while residents of poorer neighborhoods didn’t necessarily owe more than wealthier residents, they were far more likely to owe something.

In essence, the patrons who could most benefit from the libraries’ affordable resources were being blocked from using them.

See what officials and patrons of these systems had to say about the effects of the fine-free policy — and hear from dissenting voice — in NPR’s article.

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Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Libraries, NPR, Reading

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