Overdue Library Fines? Lakewood Library Tells Kids "Forget About It"

LAKEWOOD, OH — The Lakewood Public Library is taking part in a nine-library initiative aimed at putting a library card in the hands of every child under 18 in Cuyahoga County. The "A Card for Every Kid Library Challenge" will take place in September, starting Sept. 1 and ending Sept. 30.

The initiative is a cooperative effort to bring awareness to the importance of library card ownership. Every library in Cuyahoga County will be working to get students signed-up for free library cards. As part of the initiative, students who already own library cards, but owe fines, will be able to take advantage of fine forgiveness in September.

"It’s a wonderful opportunity for children, especially middle school kids," said Judy Grzybowski, Madison Branch Manager. Middle schoolers in Lakewood are required to do assigned reading over the summer, which frequently brings them into the library.

Grzybowski added that if a child came into the library in other months, when the initiative was not running, library staff would still work to clear fines off a child's card and allow them to rent materials again. (Subscribe to the Patch Lakewood newsletter for local news and updates.)

Last year, more than 9,100 library cardholders took part in the A Card for Every Kid Library Challenge fine forgiveness program and more than 4,000 new library cards were issued. Four months after the new cards were issued, 80 percent of the children who received them visited a local library.

This year, the nine libraries participating in the A Card for Every Kid Library Challenge include: Cleveland Public Library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, East Cleveland Public Library, Euclid Public Library, Heights Libraries, Lakewood Public Library, Rocky River Public Library, Shaker Heights Public Library, and Westlake Porter Public Library.

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