WELCOME TO THE
PARKERSBURG & WOOD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
Fine Free Everyday!
What are the new policy changes:
- No more fines! Not just Thursday, but everyday of the week!
- Books, audiobooks, and music - Check out for 21 days and renew for 21 days instead of 14 days.
- Videos and DVD's - Still check out for 7 days with no renewals.
- We will have no fines on any materials returned during the month of June! Fine Free the whole month.
- We will begin implementing the new $2.50 billing fee per item on those bills printed in July.
Overdues:
- 1st notice at 14 days overdue. We will call, email, and mail the first overdue notice (mail those we can't reach by phone or email). No fees at this point.
- 14 days after 1st notice (or 28 days overdue), the Bill will be processed. All of these (including those emailed), will be posted in the mail. Patrons will have a mandatory $2.50 billing fee per item. This is not a fine, it is a fee for the time and cost of the library to search for the materials and post the notice to the patron. This fee will not be waived.
So why are we doing this? Fine Free Thursday was really popular but we had noticed some problems:
- Thursday isn't always convenient for each person. Having Fine Free every day of the week allows each person to return materials within a reasonable amount of time at their convenience.
- Thursdays are extremely busy with long lines, so we are unable to help everyone satisfactorily. With Fine Free every day of the week, we believe that we'll be able to give everyone the personal service they need.
- While most people returned materials on time, or even within one or two weeks of the due date, a small minority took advantage of the policy and returned materials months or even years overdue. This minority abused the service so that others in the community were denied access to those materials they wanted. This small group also created a large drain on the library's resources in trying to recover those materials. Now that minority will have to pay for that service fee.