FINE FORGIVENESS RESPONSES:

Angela Pike, Library Director Sebewaing Township Library: Our library has had amnesty week (fine forgiveness) in the past.  It was held in conjunction with National Library Week in April. We did not forgive outstanding (past) fines, only fines that were on items returned during the amnesty week.  

Maryanne Bartles Library Director Dearborn Public Library: In 2016, to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the groundbreaking of our main library (Henry Ford Centennial), we did a major fine forgiveness program.  Our goal was to get patrons back who were regular library users but their fines were preventing them from using the library.  Here’s a summary of the rules which were approved by our Library Commission:
For the duration of the amnesty,
                        ·Waive accrued fines up to $100
                        ·Not waive fines unless the patron agrees to renew their library card
                        ·Not waive fines for lost books unless the cardholder returns these books·Restrict the eligibility for this waive to patrons currently eligible for a library card
            The amnesty period lasted about 2 weeks.  Patrons had to visit the library in-person to take advantage of the program.  LOL – I doubt patrons are waiting another 50 years for the next one.  I think they realize it was a “special” program.  That doesn’t mean we won’t do it again – we just are not telling them it might happen again. 475 people took advantage of the program.  Our 20-month report on those patrons indicate that 435 of them remain patrons in good standing.  Less than 10% never used their library cards again and about 5% accrued significant fines once again. 

Kerry Fountain, Director Saranac Public Library :     We do fine forgiveness twice a year.  The first is during Library week in April.  We forgive up to $20 per family in fines- one card or many cards- we are small and it is fairly easy to keep track of families.  Since we are part of a cooperative, we only can forgive our fines, nothing that has been interloaned.  A couple of years ago we had some people wanting to use this as a way to forgive damaged or lost books.  That we will not accept- fines only.  We advertise it however patrons must come in or call us to have fines waived.  It really isn't abused- most don't realize and it is a very happy bonus when they come in and we tell them that we can waive their late fees!
            The second one we do is during November and December.  We do food for fines.  Patrons bring in canned, boxed or hygiene products and each product is worth $1 of fines. Again, this is fines only and for this patrons do need to come in.  If they bring in a big item- toilet paper, etc- staff is allowed to give $5-$10 for the item.  All items stay in our community and are given to the local food pantry.  We actually have a lot of patrons who bring in food but still pay their fine.  They love having an easy drop off location for the food pantry.  Other than the couple of people who wanted to use this too for waiving material charges, we have never had anyone abuse this.  

Mark Morton Director Leland Township Public Library: We did a fine forgiveness week in anticipation of eliminating fines altogether in an attempt to get some books back before doing away with the fines and while we did not tell anybody the fines were going away, we still did not get a single taker for the forgiveness week. We did not clear any fines at that time since we knew we would be doing it later.
            I realize doing away with fines is a bigger hit on the bottom line for some libraries more than others but our loss of revenue was far outweighed by the goodwill generated by having no fines. The real problem has always been with a few people that are constantly overdue and the fines never proved to be a deterrent for them anyway. The patrons that are a few days overdue by mistake are thrilled when they hear they didn’t owe anything. We also keep a donation jar on the circ desk and our donations have gone up because of it.

Devin Erlandson (she/her) Assistant Director Allegan District Library :We started a Fine Forgiveness Week in 2017, I've attached our PR copy if you're interested. We held it for one week (Mon-Sat) in October, and again this past October. We encountered no major problems, mostly happy and surprised patrons. We forgave a maximum of $10 and only on materials that had been returned. If a patron had unreturned materials fines, those were not eligible for forgiveness. We did not do a blanket forgiveness, but each patron who came in, who was eligible, was informed up to $10 of their fines were being forgiven. We allowed people to call in as well, though almost no one did this. Some people wanted to pay their fines regardless, and we put that money in a donation box. I also turned off fines that week in our ILS. 

            We actually ended up going fine-free on print materials with the start of this year. 

Audrey Glass Department Heads' Assistant Fowlerville District Library:  At the Fowlerville District Library we do a fine forgiveness week once a year during National Library Week. We forgive fines only on items that are returned during that week; so it excludes fines for items returned in the past and fines for missing or damaged items.
            In general, despite putting it in our local paper, social media, and website, most patrons do not seem to have caught on that we do this each year; so we have not had any issues with people waiting long periods of time to return items during this week. In the week or two leading up to it, we tell people who have overdue items to bring them back during that week so that they won't have to pay late fees on those items. It is a huge incentive for them to bring the items back and helps us get back items that might never have been returned otherwise. It also helps lower-income families get back to using the library again.
            Patrons do not need to be present to have the fines removed. For anything returned in the drop box, we also check the accounts and remove any fines for the items being returned. All-in-all, fine forgiveness week is well received by our community and appreciated by our patrons. I hope this helps! Have a great day!

 FOOD FOR FINE PROGRAMS

Don Priest Southgate Veterans Memorial Library: We held a Food for Fines program last year, in association with the Gleaners Food Bank.  While that ran differently ($1 removed from fines for each item donated), there's one caution I think still applies.  Other, local libraries, part of our consortium, asked that we not forgive fines for their patrons, or on items that did not belong to us.  If you're part of a shared system as well, may want to ask and see what other libraries in the system think.  Hope that helps, that your forgiveness week happens and goes well!

Patty Braden Director, Romulus Public Library: We do Food for Fines for fine forgiveness twice a year in the spring and fall. It runs six weeks or so and supports our local food bank which is good PR for the library and they greatly appreciate. We collect canned goods and boxed food. We forgive $1 in fines for each item they bring in so it can't be done over the phone. Some people may hold off paying fines until the program, but we don't mind. In fact, we tell people they can wait and pay the fine with food. It's good for the library, the food bank, and the patrons. A triple win!

            Another idea is to have kids read in the library for fine forgiveness. Or forgive fines if they sign up for summer reading. Google kids read for fine forgiveness for more ideas.

Cindi L. Place Adult Services Librarian Boyne District Library: We do this every December in return for canned food and new toys for our Community Christmas baskets. You could do canned, non-perishable food for a local food pantry?

James B Lenze, Director Garden City Public Library :At Garden City, we have done “Food for Fines”.  Patrons may bring in items of non-perishable, non-expired food for our local food pantry, and we forgive up to $1 in overdue fines per item donated.  We do not forgive lost or damage fees We have encountered no problems. The program lasts one month. It has not significantly reduced our fines revenue, and it generates a small bit of good PR for us. We only clear fines if they come into the Library with a food donation.
 
  Myla-Jean Stuart, Director