The Pickerington Public Library will eliminate overdue fines beginning November 23, 2017!
This Thanksgiving, the Pickerington Public Library Board of Trustees and library staff would like to thank the Pickerington and Violet Township community for its continued support by eliminating overdue fines on all borrowed materials beginning November 23, 2017.
The library has taken steps in recent years to minimize the impact of overdue fines on customers. In 2014, daily fine rates on audiovisual materials were reduced; auto-renewal was implemented, as were fine-exempt Kids Cards.
Rather than imposing fines for overdue items, PPL will defer to its longstanding policy of blocking library cards of patrons who have materials 30 days or more overdue. This block prevents the patron from checking out more physical items until the long overdue materials have been returned. Additionally, if an overdue item is not returned 30 days after its due date, it is deemed “lost,” and the patron is charged a replacement fee. That fee would be removed if and when the Patron returns the item. PPL will continue to use regular patron notices to see overdue materials returned and a materials recovery agency to pursue debts from lost or damaged items.
Patrons with cards blocked for long overdue materials are still able to access eBooks, reserve meeting rooms, and use public PCs and other library services.
Patrons with existing overdue fines will still be required to pay them, as these fines cannot be removed from all customer accounts in bulk. However, the library’s administration will be instituting creative approaches to help those patrons with outstanding fines!
All locations of the Pickerington Public Library will be closed on Thursday, November 23. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and we will see you on Friday, November 24, for regular hours!
