Just about everyone who uses the public library, it seems, has racked up fines for overdue materials.

Check out these numbers:

 • An estimated 93,000 people currently owe money to the Pierce County Library System, with an average debt of $35.

 • The system collects about $600,000 a year in fees, which is 2 percent of its $30 million operating budget.

Alexa Eccles says she’s heard just about every story in her 20 years in library services.

“I’ve talked to people whose houses have burned down and the books were in the house,” said Eccles, the managing librarian for the Summit, Parkland, DuPont and Orting branches. “I’ve talked to people whose cars were parked next to a flooding river, and their materials got damaged.”

Whether your excuse is dramatic or mundane, the library system has good news: It’s waiving overdue fees from Sunday through Oct. 10.

During Amnesty Week, card holders with up to $75 in late fees can show up at any of the 17 branches to have their account balances – and consciences – wiped clean.

Those who have accumulated more than $75 in fines can call the finance department to clear their debt. As a prerequisite, they must return any overdue materials, or replace them with similar items if the originals cannot be found.

Library officials hope the fee-forgiveness measure will bring back economically strapped patrons discouraged by outstanding fines. “We’ve seen an increase in our use due to the economic downturn,” library spokeswoman Mary Getchell said. “We want to be more responsive to individuals who already have a (financial) burden.”

The total number of library system card holders swelled from 213,000 in 2008 to 231,000 this year, Getchell said.

Louise Kazda Carson has good reason to be enthused about Amnesty Week. The self-described library hopper racked up a whopping $700-plus in overdue fees for 19 items borrowed from the Eatonville, South Hill, Summit and Spanaway branches in 2005 and 2006.

Most of the debt accumulated from charges levied by the library collection agency, which gets involved in fines exceeding $75.

In spring of 2006, Carson visited Ukraine for three weeks to accompany her husband to a conference. Upon her return, she received a library notice alerting her of the hefty fine.

“I was shocked into inaction,” Carson said. “It just seemed like such a terrible amount.

“I didn’t make any payments because I thought somehow I’d resolve it.”

Carson tried to find the borrowed books and magazines — no easy feat in her Eatonville home, which has several thousand tomes she has bought new and secondhand over the years.

This weekend, Carson plans to make a clean sweep for the long-lost items. She recalled borrowing some gardening manuals, cookbooks, novels and a book on horsemanship that was due Oct. 22, 2005.

She looks forward to resuming her weekly library visits, only this time she vows to heed the due date.

Although Carson’s case is unusual, people often don’t realize that long-time fees can eventually impact their credit ratings, Getchell said.

“I got an e-mail this week from a woman who had left Washington state, and she was trying to buy a home,” Getchell said Tuesday. “She had $200 worth of outstanding fines to the library, and it came up in her credit report.”

And then there’s simple guilt.

“People are always very apologetic,” Eccles said.

Amnesty Week is the first part of a monthlong library card drive that hopes to usher in 8,500 new patrons. Individuals who sign up for a free card or bring a friend may enter a drawing to win a laptop or a set of earbuds.

Tacoma Public Library has never done an Amnesty Week and has no plans to do so, said spokesman David Domkoski. However, branch managers and library staff have “some discretion” in waiving fines in certain situations, he added. Card holders can also make a series of payments on an outstanding balance.

Puyallup Public Library is considering a fee-forgiveness event in the future, director Mary Jo Torgeson said. As with Tacoma, the library gives overdue borrowers leeway on a case-by-case basis.

“If somebody wanted to negotiate something and there were mitigating circumstances, we would listen to what they had to say,” Torgeson said.

Joyce Chen: 253-597-8426

joyce.chen@thenewstribune.com

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR AMNESTY

Patrons with up to $75 in fines can visit any of the 17 Pierce County library locations. People with more than $75 in fees should call the Finance Department at 253-536-6500, ext. 113

The fine erasure is not automatic. “People have to ask for amnesty – we’re not going to just close all the records,” a library spokeswoman said. Go to www.piercecountylibrary.org for more information.