The City of Kenai will discuss a resolution that aims to cease charging library fees as we traditionally know them. Resolution 2020-81 will be discussed during Wednesday night’s Kenai City Council meeting.
The City of Soldotna adopted a similar policy back in August when their City Council unanimously approved a resolution to move to a late-fee-free policy at Soldotna’s Joyce K. Carver Memorial Public Library.
Rachel Nash, Soldotna City Librarian, explained to the Soldotna City Council why the policy allows libraries to better serve the community: “Over the last couple of decades, public libraries in America have really been moving towards going fine-free. It’s becoming more and more apparent that they do not serve the purpose that they were originally used for, which is to encourage people to return items on-time. Rather, they’re actually discouraging people from returning items or from coming back at all because they’re afraid of these fines. They can become a form of social inequity. The people that really need to use library resources, who cannot buy their own books, especially parents with young children who needs lots and lots of books, they are unable to check-out items when they’re having to choose between buying food for their families or paying their library fines. Even though, to some of us, these fines seem very small, they can add-up over time, particularly with children.”
She also addressed what happens in the event that an item is damaged, which is similar to the replacement fees Kenai will discuss on Wednesday: “This actually only applies to overdue fines, so if an item is completely destroyed, we would do our best to work with the patron to get the replacement costs covered. In my time working at the library, we’ve definitely seen our share. We’ve even had a few house fires, and in most of those cases, we were able to work with them – and in some cases, we would waive the fees, such as the case of their entire house burning down. Generally, people are able to figure it out. So, just overdue fees.”
The Kenai City Council meeting featuring Resolution 2020-81 will be held on Wednesday, October 21, at 6:00 p.m. at the Kenai City Council Chambers. For those wishing to participate virtually, the meeting will be available using the Zoom online platform. Click here to join at 6:00 p.m., using Meeting ID: 860 5860 8095, with Passcode: 772639. Parties can also dial-in via telephone, using the same Meeting ID and Passcode, at (253) 215-8782 or (301) 715-8592.
