The Prince George Public Library is hoping an upcoming seven-week amnesty period gets wary fine holders to start borrowing again.
"We really want people for whom financial restraint has been a barrier to come back to the library," said communications coordinator Andrea Palmer.
Between April 15 and May 28, library cardholders won't have to cry over seemingly insurmountable fines or lost cards keeping them from the circulation desk.
"There's a lot of people in our city for whom even a $5 replacement card fee is prohibitive," said Palmer. The amnesty initiative is offering free replacement cards and the opportunity to bypass late fines for material returned during the seven-week period.
But the amount of forgiveness is going to depend on the condition of the recovered items.
"If you return a book that has been eaten by a dog, you may have to pay the replacement cost but you won't have to pay the fine on it," Palmer explained.
Books still in good condition but are not able to be put back on the shelf due to its age or the fact that it's already been replaced will go to the Friends of the Library for their annual book sale.
The amnesty period is also a chance for cardholders to come in and negotiate discounts on their accounts.
"We're going to do the best we can to make coming back to the library manageable within what we're legally able to do with our accounting," said Palmer, noting adult fines that have gone to collections will be reduced by 50 per cent.
The idea for the amnesty project stemmed from a desire to re-engage younger users in the library.
"We know there's a lot of people that made mistakes when they were kids and now they're teenagers and it's just not possible for those individuals to pay an exorbitant fee so we really want to welcome them back," said Palmer.
Use of library cards is suspended once the cardholder racks up more than $15 in fines or has items more than 28 days overdue.
Teens with fines on material checked out in 2012 or later can get half off their bill and fines dating back to 2011 or earlier will be wiped clean. A clean slate will also be provided for fines on children's cards.
The focus for the seven weeks is access to the library, with less of a concern over collecting money since the library doesn't account for money owed until it is paid, according to Palmer.
"Of course we'd love it if every single person suddenly had the means to pay us all the money that we'd ever been owed. We'd get a lot," she said. "But if people are simply not coming back or not taking out books because they know they're going to have to pay their fees, that's not money we could ever recoup anyway."
The Winnipeg library system held a two-week amnesty in March and recouped about 3,200 items. A one-day amnesty in Guelph, Ont., earlier this year saw more than 5,200 items returned, $20,000 in fines waived and the return of more than 200 card holders.
