Return overdue books without worry of fine, Mississauga tells library users
Published February 24, 2023 at 3:48 pm
The Mississauga Library wants its overdue books back, but it won’t be penalizing offending book borrowers for their tardiness.
Library officials took to social media today (Feb. 24) to issue a friendly reminder to library users with overdue books or other materials to return the items as soon as they can.
“Don’t worry, Mississauga Library is now fine free,” the City of Mississauga Twitter post read.
Actually, the library system in Mississauga went the fine-free route as of Jan. 1, 2022–over a year ago.
The daily late charges were scrapped “in order to provide barrier-free and equitable access to all of our customers,” Mississauga Library officials said at the time.
The thinking was, according to officials, that they wanted to “eliminate the negative impact of library fines, especially for the vulnerable population. Fines can affect those who need the service the most.”
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Furthermore, overdue fines are not a sustainable revenue source for libraries, especially as digital collections, which do not have late fees, continue to grow.
Mississauga Library said that in going fine free, it was also following best practices set by many North American libraries who several years ago eliminated fines.
Though the library no longer dings users with late fines, replacement fees for lost and damaged items remain.
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