Free to Read at FDLPL
Do you hate the feeling of having to pay a fine when you forget your book’s due date? We understand!
Patrons of the Fond du Lac Public Library are now Free to Read at FDLPL.
What does this mean?
All fines are being waived on books and book-like materials you can borrow from our collection.
To promote literacy and to encourage everyone to read more, the Library introduced the Free to Read at FDLPL program.
No more fines on:
- Books: fiction & nonfiction
- Book kits
- Audio books (books on CD)
- Playaways
- Magazines
If it’s something that you read, or if someone is reading it to you, then the item is fine-free!
These items still have due dates, and you still need to get them back to the library before they’re considered lost, but don’t fret about missing your due date by a few days.
Instead, relax and enjoy Summer Reading at FDLPL! Bring your book or book-like item on your next visit to the library.
We also simplified the fees on other, non-book items.
No more guessing what the fee will be on items such as music CDs, DVDs and equipment.
For other items returned beyond their due date, the daily fee will be:
- $0.50 per day:
- DVDs for adults & kids
- Music CDs
- $1.00 per day:
- Equipment
- Interlibrary loans made through WISCAT
Free to Read FAQ
- Graphic novels
- Large print books
- Books and audiobooks in Spanish
- Adult, teen, and kids books
- Picture books
- Board books
- Beginning readers
- And more!
If you have questions, stop at any service desk or give us a call at 920-929-7080.
As a part of the Fond du Lac Public Library’s move to eliminate fines on reading materials, all existing fines on these materials were waived. This move impacted more than 16,000 users of the Fond du Lac Public Library.
No. Going fine-free on reading materials will not encourage people to keep their books, magazines and more forever. They still must be returned within 30 days of their due date. Items checked out after this time will be considered “lost,” and the person who checked it out will be billed for the lost item(s). The Fond du Lac Public Library does not expect this to be a problem. Based on the experience of other libraries, books may be returned sooner than in the past under the fine-free initiative. Public libraries in New York, for instance, reported a wave of newly returned books once fines were eliminated. At other libraries, circulation has increased because borrowers will not feel shame of needing to pay a fine for items returned past their due date.
Yes, we will continue to send notices to alert you when due dates are approaching. This will not change. You will still receive a courtesy notice 1-3 days before the item is due, and an overdue notice 7 days after the due date.
Fines already were a diminishing source of revenue for the Fond du Lac Public Library. Since 2015, the amount of fines collected actually has been diminishing overall, and since the pandemic it has dropped by more than half:
Overall, the revenue generated by fines on books and other reading materials represented a tiny fraction of the Fond du Lac Public Library’s budget: just 0.5%. Not all materials at the Fond du Lac Public Library are going fine-free as well. Items such as music CDs, DVDs, and equipment will continue to accrue fines, as they have in the past.
Everyone benefits, but those who are least able to pay fines benefit the most. One of the library’s central functions is to encourage literacy within the greater Fond du Lac community, but fines disproportionately affect individuals who have the fewest means, including those who have the least access to learning resources. While ideally everyone returns their materials on time, it’s common for someone to miss a due date from time to time. While a small fee may not mean much to many people, it can prohibit others with limited resources from utilizing the library on a return trip.
The Fond du Lac Public Library serves many roles in the community, from encouraging literacy to helping individuals connect with job resources to providing a safe place to be on a cold winter’s day. We don’t see penalizing members of the public, particularly those who have the fewest means to pay their fines, as a core responsibility of the Fond du Lac Public Library. Besides, the fact that fines continue to be collected demonstrates that they do not prevent people from returning items late.
The Fond du Lac Public Library is one of many libraries nationwide that have recognized that fining people for returning their reading materials late creates a barrier for encouraging literacy, particularly among disadvantaged individuals. In the Fox Valley, for instance, Oshkosh, Menasha, Appleton, Little Chute and Kaukauna all have transitioned to a fine-free model. This also meets a need identified by the public as part of our ongoing strategic planning effort. The Fond du Lac Public Library seeks to be “radically welcoming” to everyone in the community, and going fine-free on reading materials is an important step toward accomplishing this goal.