Beginning July 1, Prince William County residents will be able to check out a book from a local library, return it past its due date and not worry about paying a late fee.
County supervisors acted Tuesday to eliminate local library fines in next year’s budget and wipe out existing library debt estimated at nearly $300,000 in an effort to remove barriers to access for low-income families and students.
“Often the fines are for people who are the least able to afford them,” said at-large Chair Ann Wheeler (D).
Prince Willam County’s library advisory board made a formal recommendation to the county government in October requesting that late fines be eliminated.
Library spokeswoman Rachel Johnson said the county’s library system believes eliminating fines will Increase access to library resources and address the “digital divide” -- the gap between people who have access to computers and the internet, and those who do not -- by increasing access to computers, internet and mobile wi-fi hotspots now being offered at county libraries.
“Library fines typically most affect those with limited resources and deter them from checking materials out from the library,” Johnson said.
Prince William joins at least three other Virginia jurisdictions – Richmond, Loudoun and Arlington – in eliminating local library fines. Numerous cities across the United States, including Chicago, Salt Lake City and San Diego, have also eliminated library fines in recent years.
The move was supported by Democratic supervisors on the board but opposed by Supervisors Jeanine Lawson, R-Brenstsville, and Pete Candland, R-Gainesville, who worried local library-users would no longer return library books.
“If there’s no incentive to get that book back in, I guarantee you it’s going to be forgotten. And that’s just wrong,” Lawson said.
Candland proposed using federal COVID-19 relief funds from either the CARES Act or the American Rescue Plan to pay off existing library debt but said he opposes eliminating fines altogether.
“My concern is there’s a whole bunch of ramifications to things like this, like people not returning books,” Candland said.
The move received the support of CASA Virginia, an immigrants’ rights advocacy group.
In a letter to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors last week, CASA Virginia Director Luis Aguilar said eliminating library fees would help create a more inclusive and equitable county.
“Access to public libraries is necessary for communities as they serve a critical role in connecting and strengthening communities,” Aguilar said. “This change will encourage more of our community members to visit as they begin to open back up to the public.”
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April 28, 2021 at 09:58PM
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Prince William County's new budget eliminates local library fines - Prince William Times
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