Ohio State libraries waive hundreds of thousands in fines

Paige Cirtwill
Thu, 08 Apr 2021 00:39:42 +0000
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Despite issuing more than triple the dollar amount of fines, Ohio State libraries collected just more than half the amount of money in library fines in 2020 than it did in 2019. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

Despite issuing more than triple the dollar amount of fines in 2020 compared to 2019, Ohio State libraries collected just over half the amount of money.

In 2020, 14,384 fines totaling more than $480,000 were issued, but more than nine out of 10 were waived. Because of Ohio State’s suspension of in-person classes for the spring and summer semesters, campus libraries closed and patrons were unable to return books on time, Nancy Colvin, director of strategic marketing and communications for University Libraries, said.?

“We certainly weren’t going to try and hold people accountable for the fact that they couldn’t return books during that time,” Colvin said.

Even though more fines were issued in 2020, borrowers paid a total of just $37,828 — a little more than half of the $69,741 paid in 2019, Tony Maniaci, head of access services in the content and access division of University Libraries, said.

Money from library fines is used to buy and replace materials, Maniaci said.

“The biggest reason why we fine is to get the books back, either because somebody wants it or because it’s our copy of the book,” Maniaci said. “If we don’t have it we’re missing that piece of the culture or the history that we will no longer have.”

In 2019, more than 10,200 fines totaling $143,321 were issued and more than half were waived, Maniaci said. The average fine paid in 2020 was $2.55, while the average fine over the past 10 years was $8.03.

Colvin said in normal years, the majority of fines are waived because they aren’t meant to punish patrons but to ensure they return materials for others to use.?

Maniaci said over the past 10 years, the university waived about twice as many fines as it collected.

Fines are typically not waived if it is a reserve book — meaning it is held at the university for a full semester for students in specific classes to use — or if the book is from OhioLINK, a service that provides books to multiple libraries throughout the state, Maniaci said.?

Patrons are fined $125 for OhioLINK books that are 30 days overdue, according to the university libraries website.?

Reserve books are only meant to be checked out for two hours at a time and accrue a $2 fine the first hour they are overdue, followed by a $5 fine every hour after that up to $100, Maniaci said.

“Those aren’t typically waived because there is somebody else waiting for that book and those patrons have inconvenienced somebody else,” Maniaci said.

Instead of paying the fine for an unreturned book, the libraries allow patrons to buy a replacement of the book in addition to paying a $40 processing fee. This process can also be used with OhioLINK books by filing an appeal form if the owning institution approves.?

Due to the pandemic, books are quarantined for five days after being returned by a patron before they can be checked out again, and physical copies of reserve books are not available.

University library fines can be appealed by filing an appeal form.