The Middle Georgia Regional Library System is removing fines from children's and teen print materials effective Thursday, July 1. The Middle Georgia Regional Library Board of Trustees approved the removal earlier this year as a solution to reduce barriers and increase equity for library users. This change does not apply to adult materials and patrons will remain responsible for the cost of lost or damaged items. Items that are checked out will still have a due date. This only applies to Middle Georgia Regional Library materials.

“We know that for some patrons, paying a fine can be daunting and damper the library experience,” said Sherri Goss, Chair of the Middle Georgia Regional Library Board of Trustees. “Removing fines for children and young adult materials helps make the library’s resources more accessible, support literacy efforts for our community, and remove the unnecessary stress, fear, or apprehension of library use.”

Fines are penalties for the late return of materials whereas fees are the costs for damaged, lost, or long overdue items. All fees will remain on patron accounts and fines for children’s and young adult print materials will be removed. Middle Georgia Regional Libraries are joining a number of other library systems across the country in removing fines. Studies show that overdue fines directly impact children’s families and community members and encourages patrons not to bring books back. 

In many cases, libraries will restrict access to materials once a patron has reached a certain total of accumulated fines. This further disproportionately targets lower-income households, who likely cannot afford to purchase books. 

Therefore, when a library cuts off a patron, they may be eliminating any access they have to books, movies, periodicals, or the many other unique services.

“We did not want 20 cents a day to keep families from using their resources,” said Jennifer Lautzenheiser, Middle Georgia Regional Library Director. “This change opens additional doors for our users to utilize their local libraries and removes an economic boundary for lower-income patrons. We recognize that the majority of users with a balance are children younger than 18 and we want them to be forever library supporters.” 

Middle Georgia Regional Library hopes that removing fines from children’s and teen print materials will encourage prior users to come back to the library and attract new users to experience what their local library has to offer.