Check It Out: Nashville Library Mulls An End To Fines

NASHVILLE, TN — As far as library cliches go, fines are up there with shushing librarians and those weird stick things that hold the newspapers, but the director of the Nashville Public Library says that fines may do more harm than good and the juice of the extra funds isn't worth the squeeze.

During his budget presentation, Library Director Kent Oliver said the library system can operate just fine without the $159,000 brought in by overdue fines, particularly since that figure has been on steady decline. Oliver said there are 50,000 people whose cards are blocked because they owe $20 or more in fines.

"We aren't ever going to see that money," he said.

Oliver argued that fines — particularly when they build up — discourage people from frequenting the library, particularly from low-income families for whom stacked fines can prove to be a substantial burden. (For more local updates, click here to sign up for the Nashville Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts, or find your local Middle Tennessee Patch here.)

“If you are an at-risk family or a family on a fixed income, and maybe through no fault of your own your kids check out a bunch of stuff that you’re not aware of and you suddenly have $30 or $40 in fines … chances are, you’re not going to come back,” he said, according to WPLN.

People would still have to pay for items considered lost.

Nashville wouldn't be alone;library systems across the country have started eliminating or drastically reducing overdue fines. Many of those systems have found the elimination of fines has no effect on return rates.

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