Here’s some good news for people who have overdue materials at a Tacoma public library
If you have an overdue library book in Tacoma, you no longer need to worry about paying your fine.
The Tacoma Public Library system announced last week it adopted a policy to permanently eliminate overdue fines for late items and will clear all current overdue fines.
That debt adds up to about $421,000 for the past seven years, said TPL spokesperson Mariesa Bus.
Overdue library fines not only have minimal impact on the library’s budget, but it can be a burden for families and can prevent people from returning to the library, said Kate Larsen, Tacoma Public Library director.
“This gives patrons who have been avoiding visiting their library due to outstanding charges the opportunity to start fresh. We hope that this change will let our community know that their library values them and they are welcome here,” Larsen said.
While TPL did not charge any fines during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still fines on the record dating back seven years. By TPL policy, fines cannot be collected that are more than five years old.
Waiving late fines won’t impact the budget much, TPL says. Typically, any revenue collected by TPL is returned to the city’s general fund, so the TPL budget does not depend on revenue from fines and fees.
As an example, TPL collected about $73,000 worth of fines in 2019, equating to less than one-half of one percent of the library’s $15.2 million budget for that year.
TPL added that while overdue fines are no more, patrons can still be charged for damaged or lost items. Items are considered lost when a patron notifies TPL that they have misplaced an item or when an item is 81 days past its due date.
TPL is implementing some other changes, including automatically renewing checked out items if not on hold for another person, and patrons can borrow items until they have amassed $100 in fees. TPL will also no longer charge a $1 replacement fee for a library card.
