Illustration of a student carrying a large pile of books to the librarian's desk

Should Libraries Get Rid of Late Fees?

December 5, 2022

Last year, the New York Public Library (NYPL) announced that it would no longer charge late fees. Plus, it wiped out any fines that people already owed. In recent years, public libraries in U.S. cities such as Chicago, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas, have done the same.

Officials say fines prevent people from enjoying the benefits of the library. If someone builds up too many fines, they are not allowed to check out more items. Ending fines may bring people—and books—back to the library. At the NYPL, nearly 500,000 items have been returned since late fees were canceled.

“We have seen that eliminating fines doesn’t lead to lost books but an increase in borrowing,” says Shauntee Burns-Simpson of the NYPL.

But others argue that customers should be held responsible for past-due items. They say late fees are the best way to get people to follow the rules.

Here’s what two of our readers think.

For many people, late fees are just a minor hassle. But some families can’t afford to pay the fines. They might stop going to the library because they owe money. And that would keep people from accessing free books and other services libraries offer. Ending late fees is a step in the right direction to encouraging everyone to read.

Studies have shown that charging late fees doesn’t usually result in books being returned on time anyway. So what’s the point?

You borrow a book, and bring it back on time—that’s the way libraries work. Late fees help encourage people to return books, which belong to the library, not to the customer. If you don’t bring a book back to the library, no one else can borrow it. If someone wants to keep a book forever, they can buy it from a bookstore.

Late fees also help raise money for libraries. Those extra funds could be used to replace lost books and start new programs.