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<p class="MsoNormal">Buchanan District Library is going Fine Free next week. Below is our press release. For more information, check out our website at
<a href="https://www.buchananlibrary.org/about-us/fine-free">https://www.buchananlibrary.org/about-us/fine-free</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Monotype Corsiva"">Laura Hauch<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Circulation Manager<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Buchanan District Library <span style="font-family:"Script MT Bold"">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">128 East Front Street<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Buchanan, MI 49107<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">269-695-3681<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">269-695-0004 Fax<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://buchananlibrary.org/"><span style="color:blue">http://buchananlibrary.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEWS RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
September 25, 2019<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Contact: Meg Paulette, Director<br>
Phone: 269-695-1911<br>
Email: </span><a href="mailto:m.paulette@buchananlibrary.com"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">m.paulette@buchananlibrary.com</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Buchanan Library to Eliminate Late Fines<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">BUCHANAN, Michigan — Late fines will soon be a thing of the past at Buchanan District Library. Beginning October 1, 2019, the library will stop charging fines for overdue materials.
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<br>
“It’s about access,” said Meg Paulette, library director. “Fines can prevent people from using library materials and services for a variety of reasons. Our goal is to encourage everyone to enjoy and use the library, and charging fines is counterproductive to
that goal.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This change in policy for the library includes eliminating all overdue fines, and forgiving any fines patrons have accrued in the past. Materials will still have due dates, and as always,
patrons will be responsible for replacement costs if an item is lost or destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Eliminating late fines is a growing trend among libraries, though it is less common in our region. This year, the American Library Association released a
<i>Resolution on Monetary Library Fines as a Form of Social Inequity</i>, and “urge(d) libraries to scrutinize their practices of imposing fines on library patrons and actively move towards eliminating them.” The resolution also compels governing bodies to
strengthen their funding support so libraries are not dependent on fines as a source of revenue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Buchanan District Library is able to eliminate overdue fines thanks in part to a grant from the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“We are able to offset the lost revenue from collecting fines this first year because of the of the MGCF grant,” said Paulette. “In the future, we need to increase fundraising efforts
so that this change in policy will be financially sustainable. Fines aren’t a large percentage of our budget, but as a small library with ever-increasing costs, we rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue to improve and expand our services. Fortunately
for us, Buchanan is a wonderful, tight-knit community of neighbors who look out for each other, and we know we can count on them.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Buchanan District Library joins a nation-wide movement to end library fines. Studies from libraries around the country (and the world) have shown that library fines are not effective as
a mechanism to encourage timely return of materials, and instead serve as an economic barrier. In addition, eliminating fines has been shown to increase library usage.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“We hope to see more people using the library,” said library Board President, Dave Perez. “But first and foremost, we are eliminating fines because we think it’s the right thing to do.”
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Libraries are for everyone—a place to be a citizen and not a consumer,” concludes library director, Meg Paulette. “We’re proud to become a fine-free library.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">More information about Buchanan District Library’s decision to eliminate fines and the details of their new policy can be found at
</span><a href="http://www.buchananlibrary.org"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">www.buchananlibrary.org</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">.
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