Reading Practice 16: Should Libraries Charge Late Fees?
CELPIP General reading practice. Part 4: Viewpoints. Standard level. Free to try.
Passage
Fine Free or Fair? Our Library Debates Late Fees
Last month, the Northbridge Public Library board voted to stop charging fines on overdue books for a one year trial. The decision has divided residents.
Head librarian Joanne Mercier supports the change. She says fines were keeping the people who need the library most away from it. 'We had families who stopped coming because they owed eight or nine dollars and felt embarrassed,' she explains. 'Libraries in other cities that removed fines saw more returned books, not fewer.' She points out that fines brought in only about two per cent of the library's budget.
Councillor Derek Shaw voted against the trial. He accepts that fines can be a barrier, but he worries about books that never come back. 'Without some consequence, popular titles will sit on people's shelves for months,' he says. He would prefer a system where children's fines are removed but adults still pay a small amount.
Longtime volunteer Rosa Lindqvist has a different concern. She is less worried about money and more about responsibility. 'Returning what you borrow is a basic lesson,' she says. 'I am happy to remove fines, but we should still send firm reminders and block borrowing after a book is a month late.' The board says it already plans to suspend cards after 45 days.
The library will publish return rates every three months during the trial.
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Reader comment:
I have to say the board made the right call. When I lost my job two years ago, I owed the library twelve dollars and simply stopped going, which meant my son stopped going too. A small fine can feel huge when money is tight. The councillor's idea of charging only adults misses the point, because parents are the ones who bring the children. I just hope the library listens to the volunteers about reminders, since a nudge is all most of us need.
Questions
- What did the library board decide?
- According to Mercier, why should fines be removed?
- What does Mercier say about fines and the budget?
- What is Councillor Shaw's main worry?
- What does Shaw suggest instead?
- How is Lindqvist's view different from Shaw's?
- What does the board already plan to do?
- What is the commenter's overall position?
- Why does the commenter disagree with the councillor?
- Which idea from the article does the commenter support?