No fines, no worries, says the Vancouver Island Regional Library regarding the decision to eliminate all late fees at the beginning of the year.
 
"There's been no effect on the number of overdue items since January," said Louise Broadley, divisional manager of collections and support services for the Vancouver Island Regional Library.
 
"We found that sometimes people wouldn't use the library because they were embarrassed, or couldn't afford to pay the fine, so the decision was made to eliminate that barrier. Many libraries across Canada are doing the same thing, and the feedback overall has been positive. It's a very good move."
 
The first step toward a total ban on fines began in 2018 when VIRL eliminated late fees for children's books.
 
Late fees were not charged during COVID, followed by a decision to remove penalties for young adults (aged 13 to 18) about 18 months later before doing away with fines entirely on 1 Jan 2020.
 
All outstanding fines applicable before that date were also waived.
 
Although Broadley could not provide a total amount of late fees collected for 2017, the last year fines were charged to all users, she said it represented a "very very small" percentage of VIRL's revenue.
 
According to a VIRL release, two-thirds of items are returned within 21 days, with 98 percent returned eventually.
 
Reminders to return items that have been checked out are still issued, and replacement costs for items not returned go into effect after 120 days.
 
Due dates and late returns are not an issue with digital materials, which account for one-third of borrowed items.
 
"For the board of trustees, the removal of fines on adult items was an important step in our commitment to reducing barriers to our services for people in Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Central Coast," Erin Hemmens, acting chair of VIRL board of trustees said in the release.
 
The decision means more families will have access to reading and educational materials, more seniors will be able to connect with their libraries, and no one will suffer the indignity and embarrassment of punitive fines restricting their ability to read, watch, and listen to the 750,000 physical items in our collections, said VIRL executive director Ben Hyman.
 
Rick Stiebel.