Also, the SPL has to raise fees in a way that won't cause people to simply not return the materials. 15 cents is good because just about anyone can afford a few late days at that rate, and will probably pay the fine as well. If you raised it to 3 dollars a day, someone who is a week late is unlikely to pay a fee. Finding the line is the tough part, because nobody wins when an account gets sent to collections.

A paperback should only cost $5 to buy and if the fine is more than that, why bother returning it?

Reference materials have a punitive fine because they presumably have greater value.

@2 The last time I spilled coffee all over a $10 paperback, I was charged $25 to have the library replace it. But then, I'm an English major, and not very good at math...otherwise I'm sure I could have figured out why that seemed weird...

@2- Overdue fines + Replacement fee for not returning the book + not being able to check anything, that's why you don't keep a book. Do even use the library?

@4- What's weird about being punished for destroying public property?

They should offer a three-day grace period, but have fines kick in in full after that. So if you brought back an item a day late, no penalty, but if you brought it back 4 days late it's a dollar.

@5 By "punished" you mean having to pay 2.5x replacement value? I don't find it weird, just a bit excessive.

@4,

I'm pretty sure libraries pay more for books, CDs, and DVDs than the rest of us do. There's also the matter of the labor involved with buying a new book, getting it into the library system, etc. Do you think the book fairy delivers replacements for ruined materials?

umm, how about return your stuff on time?

We'd have plenty of money for libraries if we weren't building a Billionaires Tunnel none of us voted for ...

@8 maybe they should allow book fairies to replace materials

If I lose a library book and can replace it at my cost, why can't I hand them a copy for lowering my fines?

Also, there should be an amnesty program once a year for fines (but not lost material value.)

I had a box set of CDs and two books that got misplaced. The fines/replacement value ended up being over $200. I found the materials when I moved (so I had it 'checked out' for about five months) and I still returned them, but the fines are still prohibitive for me to pay them to use the library again.

When I accidentally destroyed a book I'd checked out (of the Spokane public library system), they gave me the option of paying them the cover price or replacing it myself, even suggesting that I could probably find it cheaper on Amazon. It's a solution that makes sense to me.

That said, I can totally understand having a policy that says "penalty for destruction of a paperback = $25." It would be kind of like a parking ticket: I'm sure the cost of writing the ticket, the cost of the paper ticket itself, the lost parking meter revenue, and even the administrative costs of processing the ticket, don't come anywhere close to what you have to pay. What you're paying is a penalty, not a replacement cost.

@12 - P.S. I would totally bitch about it if I had to pay it, though.

@12 Yeah, I somehow doubt that adding a book to the next bulk order going out, and then putting a new sticker on a book that is already in the system accounts for $15 worth of labour, but whatever.

Re: Library fees in general:
I love libraries, but I already pay $125 a year for my card, as opposed to $12 since I live outside of the city limits (and yes, I *get* that it's because my taxes are paid in a different county), and when you add up the time/gas money spent to take a book out, drive to return it, possibly pay multiple dollar fines because they're a couple of days late (yes, my fault, I know)...it all adds up, sadly, to making the $7 book I can get on my Kindle pretty appealing.

The increased fines won't help that the library will still curtail hours and may even shut branches.

Agree with Will @ 10. It's a real shame that learning and reading aren't the #1 priority in this country. Are they re-visiting the changes in hours? I can't believe branches are closed on Sundays and at 6 pm on Friday.