Hastings Public Library to Do Away with Late Fees

Dec. 23, 2021, 4 p.m. ·

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The Hastings Public Library has recently bid farewell to fines for overdue books. They follow several other libraries in the state and around the nation that are moving in the same direction. The idea is to alleviate some of the stress on library staff that comes with monitoring payments and to relieve the pressure of community members to pay the fines.

Joseph Chapman with the Hastings Public Library says he hopes this is an incentive to get people’s eyes back into books.

“Our hope is that with word spreading about our new policy, there are some people who hear about it who maybe were formally reluctant to come into the library and use these services. So we hope we get them back in the door to see where they stand,” Chapman said.

The library unofficially adopted a no fee policy as an experiment during the pandemic. They agreed with patrons already benefiting from the rule to do away with overdue payments moving forward.