Worried about what kind of fine you are facing for that library book you keep forgetting – and forgetting and forgetting – to return?
OC Public Libraries is offering “Fine Free Library Days” through Feb. 24, so delinquent borrowers can return to their local county library branch without fear of having to pay for those overdue books, DVDs or other items.
In the spirit of the county system’s mission of providing access and support to residents, the goal of the amnesty, library officials said, is to bring back patrons who have avoided using services.
Overdue or lost item fees and fines will be waived upon return of the item, officials said.
During a similar amnesty week in 2011, branches saw a bump in attendance and people returned 6,700 items, worth more than $160,000.
In the first day of this amnesty period, the library waived 5,264 fines.
Fines and fees are less than 1 percent of the library system’s budget, officials said, and any lost revenue is largely made up by saving staff time used processing the late payments.
The library system is looking at offering more fine-free days in the future and has made changes to its lending rules to make it easier to avoid fines to begin with, such as allowing more renewals and lengthening the loan period for some items.