Langara Library to let go of late fee fines

By LYDIA OCHIENG

Langara College library has abolished late fees on borrowed items, hoping to better incorporate the needs of students accessing the facilities.

Under the initiative, there are no late fees on overdue items from the library’s general collection. However, this does not apply to reserve items or certain equipment, according to the library.

Suzanne Rackover, director of the Langara Library, said that the initiative aims to build relationships with students and ensure they feel comfortable using the library.

“Specifically at Langara, we don’t want fines to be like a huge burden or overly punitive for students,” she said.

According to the updated policy, specified loan periods remain unchanged, and items that are overdue by 30 days or more are considered lost; incurring a replacement charge.

Rackover also said that transitioning to a fine-free model could only be possible after the library staff members analyzed it for months before implementing the policy. Since the start of the fall semester, late fee fines have been discarded by the Langara library, which aligns them with other Metro Vancouver libraries that have adopted a similar policy.

The Vancouver Public Library said that their library had similar motivations for eliminating late fines. Scott Fraser, marketing and communications manager at VPL, said that overdue fines proved to be a reason for people to not use the library services.

“By eliminating overdue fines, we can remove a barrier for people and ensure that all feel welcome to use public library spaces that are intended for everybody,” Fraser said.

Students welcome the initiative

Students say that the change has removed a huge financial burden of late fines. Langara student Beck Martel expressed his enthusiasm about the initiative.

“Those of us who are really kind of pinching pennies, those extra fees getting out of the way is really beneficial,” Martel said.

Alyssa Jade Burke, also a Langara student and regular at the library, said that the initiative alleviates stress. Before the fines were eliminated, her main concern was the due date for borrowed books. Now, she feels free to read loaned books at her own pace.

“It makes me want to go to the library more. It makes me want to read more,” Burke said.

Following suit

Lower Mainland libraries have taken different paths to eliminating fines, and numbers show the impact. According to Fraser, the VPL spent many years preparing to eliminate overdue fines through specific initiatives. Their fine forgiveness event in 2021 did the most to forgive fines and saw just over $184,505 in overdue fines forgiven.

When the VPL went fine free in June 2022 there were approximately 34,000 cardholders with overdue charges on their accounts whose charges were forgiven.

Amelia Nezil, the library communications and marketing director at University of British Columbia, said that the university eliminated daily overdue fines on certain items in September 2020, but fines remain in place for high-demand items.