Oxnard-- The Community Services, Public Safety, Housing & Development Committee, Tuesday, March 22, eliminated library overdue fees.
The action eliminates fines for all library materials and waives existing overdue fines owed by library patrons as of March 15, 2022.
Assistant Director for Cultural and Community Services Renee Rakestraw presented the item, and she said the fines total $187,212.
“It authorizes the City Manager or designee to refund all fines collected during Covid-19,” she said.
Library fines for overdue fines have been a longstanding practice, she said, and nationwide, 97.5 percent of public libraries currently collect fines.
“In recent years, the move to fine-free environments have gathered significant momentum,” she said. “The most important benefit placed on fines is as a tool to ensure library items, especially the most popular items and recently published books, are returned and available for the next user to avoid the high cost of material replacement ordering and processing, and recirculating popular items in a timely manner and use limited funds to purchase new items, instead of repurchasing unreturned or late items.”
She said four of the seven library systems in Ventura County eliminated the fines. Camarillo, Moorpark, and Oxnard are considering eliminating their fines.
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