Bethel Park Public Library eliminating daily fines for overdue materials

Bethel Park Public Library will forgive previously accrued fines for residents and no longer charge daily late fines on overdue materials, officials announced earlier this month.

The changes are part of an initiative launched to start the new year.

Library director Christine McIntosh said the goal is to “reduce barriers to service” and make the library more inviting.

“I think that eliminating late fees helps the library be more welcoming, and fines on late materials (may) prevent our patrons from using this very valuable community resource,” McIntosh said. “We just want to make sure it’s accessible to all of our residents.”

This does not mean items can be taken out forever. Library materials will still have a due date.

There will be replacement fees for items that are lost, damaged or otherwise not returned.

Patrons can renew their borrowing of an item up to six times. This equates to a maximum of 18 weeks for most items.

DVDs and CDs can be taken out for a maximum of about six weeks.

If there is a hold on an item, it will not be able to be renewed.

A hold occurs when another patron signs up to take that item out.

Patrons that have not returned items after all eligible renewals have been used will be charged a replacement fee.

McIntosh said that the fee would be forgiven if the item is returned.

The library blocks account privileges such as borrowing, renewal, e-resources and database access if more than $10 in fees are owed.

Fines are funds owed for overdue items, and fees are funds owed for replacement items, collection agency charges and other manual charges.

McIntosh said forgiving fines will not impact the budget, as less than one percent of revenues come from fines.

Total fine income last year was less than $6,000.

Bethel Park Public Library is a member of the Allegheny County Library Association and is one of 23 libraries in the county to go fine-free.

McIntosh said six libraries piloted the effort in Allegheny County two years ago with a majority of materials being returned within seven days of their due date.

She said it was too soon to tell how successful the initiative would be for her library.

The library has 11,910 registered users out of a borough population of about 32,300.

It circulated a little more than 251,500 items last year, according to library records.

Nearly 15,000 people participated in the library’s 451 in-person/outdoor and virtual programs last year.

“We love being here,” McIntosh said. “It’s not just about how many items we’re circulating. It’s all of the other things that we offer.”

More information about library policies and programs is available at bethelparklibrary.org.