Austin City Council has voted to make AustinPublicLib a library system free of overdue fines.
Rosie Ninesling is a self-described “library delinquent.”
Library users will still be expected to pay for lost and damaged items. A library representative said a state law prohibits the measure from applying retroactively, meaning the council vote does not waive overdue fines for people who currently owe them. That put Austin’s libraries in contrast with hundreds of other public library systems across the country, including the San Francisco Public Library and the New York Public Library, which did away with late fines in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
When library users rack up $25 or more in fines, they’re no longer allowed to borrow books. Conners said this most commonly affects lower-income residents.
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