(Photo courtesy of Ashland Public Library/Ashland.lib.oh.us)

“FINE FREE, FOREVER” ASHLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY LEAVES OVERDUE FINES BEHIND IN 2021

Ashland Public Library is excited to announce that we are officially fine free as of January 1, 2022. Joining a growing movement of libraries across the country, Ashland Public Library will no longer charge overdue fines on items, unless specified otherwise by the owning library.

“The library and our staff are excited for this new change. We want patrons within this community to know that we are open and committed to breaking down barriers for them to access the vast array of opportunities within the library,” said Library Director Heather Miller.

The library will be eliminating overdue fines on all current, active library cards. As of January 1, 2022 each library patron will receive a fresh start on their library account with previous overdue fines forgiven.

Up until now fines have accounted for only 0.123% of Ashland Public Library’s revenue. This amount was already greatly reduced with the implementation of automatic renewals in 2018. Going fine-free will not affect any of the programs or services the library provides to its patrons.

Under the new policy, patrons at Ashland Public Library are still encouraged to return items by their due dates, but are no longer charged overdue fines on most items. Fines may still apply for items checked out at other SEO (Serving Every Ohioan) Consortium Libraries.

Patrons remain responsible for fees applied due to any missing pieces, damaged items, or unreturned items. Library patrons will be charged the full price of any item not returned within 45 days of the due date. In these instances, a patron’s borrowing privileges will be suspended until their account balance is under the $5 threshold.

Stella Metcalf, Public Services Manager added, “We hope this change brings new and old faces back into the library, we hope to see you soon.”

Please visit ashland.lib.oh.us/fines-and-fees to learn more about this change.