To have late fees on books or not?
That's been the back and forth debate for years within the library system, but one councillor in Winnipeg is suggesting to .
Matt Allard, St. Boniface councillor is suggesting to axe late fees for overdue library books to children. He thinks that by doing this, more kids would take out books and it would provide better access to kids who's families have a lower income.
Jean-Louis Guillas, director for the Dauphin Library says that the fine system is not meant as a revenue generator, but as a reminder that the library is a shared resource.
"Everybody goes in and around on this debate and certainly for some people you know if fines creep up, then it becomes a barrier. But at the same time we have to have some kind of mechanism to remind people to bring those shared resources back to the library."
The library did experiment with a "fine forgiveness" program that let people off the hook for their late fees. If the lending structure were to change, it would have to up to the regional board to decide.
Guillas says if there was no late fee, library staff would have to work harder to remind people to bring their books back.
"There is also the possibility that more materials would go and not come back. Then you have fewer resources to do other things with."
He also suggests making library trips as often as possible is a way to remember to bring your library books back on time.
