Got an overdue Harry Potter book on your shelf? As of today, you no longer have to pay a fine for it if it’s from the St. Albert Public Library.
St. Albert Public Library staff announced April 24 they would no longer charge overdue fines on children’s and young adult materials, effective immediately. Any existing late fees on such books were also forgiven.
Patrons were previously charged $0.15–$0.50 a day per overdue children’s or young adult item, said collections and member services manager Lisa Old. Patrons lost borrowing privileges once they reached $10 in fines, and could have debt collectors sent after them if they owe $50 or more. If an item was at least 52 days overdue, it was considered lost, and the borrower was charged its replacement price. The library had about $150,000 in late fees outstanding on its records as of April 14, many of which it expected would never be paid.
Late fees are supposed to encourage people to return books on time so others can borrow them, said Old and library CEO Peter Bailey. But not everyone can afford to pay these fees, while others may feel shame and guilt over having them. These financial and psychological barriers may cause patrons to shun the library.
“For us, that’s the worst thing in the world,” Bailey said.
“We want every kid, every teen in this town to be accessing this library.”
Late fees make up less than one per cent of the library’s annual budget, Bailey said — about $50,000, with around $11,000 of that coming from children and teen items. By removing these fees, the library aims to encourage more families to check out its free courses and materials at minimal cost.
“It’s kind of our own red tape reduction,” Bailey said, referring to Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction.
Old said patrons will still be charged replacement fees for youth and teen items that are considered lost, which happens when an item is at least 40 days (down from the current 52 days) overdue. She also plans to tweak the library’s late fee structure to make it more consistent.
Bailey said he was excited to introduce this change, noting many libraries dropped their late fees during the 2020 pandemic. (St. Albert’s public library did while it was closed to the public early in the pandemic, but later brought them back.) About 15 per cent of Alberta’s public libraries have gone fine-free, including the ones in Beaumont, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Strathcona County, and Stony Plain. Some have reported their patrons have become better at returning books on time as a result.
Edmonton Public Library dropped all its late fees in June 2020 to help lower-income patrons who needed the library the most, said Vicky Varga, the library’s executive director of collections, marketing, and technology. Doing so has had almost no effect on its number of late returns or finances, but has anecdotally encouraged some patrons to resume using the library.
“Wide access to information really does help support the mission of a democratic society,” she said, and libraries act as social levellers for those who can’t afford other ways to get at knowledge.
Bailey said the library’s board of directors would likely look at dropping the rest of its late fees in 2026.
Visit sapl.ca for details.
