Burlington Review

The Burlington County Library System will eliminate overdue fines starting July 1. The Burlington County Commissioners and Burlington County Library Commission announced the new policy this week, aiming to promote equity and remove barriers that prevent predominantly low-income households from accessing library services.

“Burlington County is the home of New Jersey’s first county library system and for more than a century has delivered essential resources and services for our residents,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson. “Eliminating overdue fines is another major step in the library system’s continuing evolution and will ensure our libraries remain accessible to all users, regardless of their financial circumstances. It will promote equity and encourage residents to take advantage of all the excellent resources, programs, and services our libraries offer.”

Under the new policy approved by the Library Commission, most overdue fines for late materials will be eliminated, and all delinquent accounts will be forgiven of overdue fines.

“As of July 1, everyone will be starting with a clean slate and we will no longer impose overdue fines for late returns from that date forward,” said Burlington County Library System Director Ranjna Das.

Previously, overdue fines ranged from 15 cents a day for books to $2 a day for late Chromebooks, tablets, and mobile WiFi devices. The change applies to books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, movies, video games, and technology-on-loan at all 15 BCLS branch libraries and member libraries. Overdue fines will remain for museum passes, classroom kits, book club sets, and interlibrary loan items.

BCLS cardholders must still pay replacement fees for lost or unreturned materials. The library system will continue to freeze additional borrowing by cardholders with overdue materials.

“Fine-free does not mean cardholders won’t be held responsible for the materials they borrow. They will still be charged for lost or unreturned material,” Das said. “What we’ve learned from other libraries that have already made this change is that material return rates increase along with material circulations, library card registrations, and overall usership. We’re expecting similar results within our library system.”

Burlington County Library Commission Chair Jonathan Chebra noted that the vote followed over a year of discussion and research concerning the policy change. It also followed last November's implementation of an automatic renewal system where most borrowed materials are automatically renewed after their due date unless there is a waiting list.

Under the fine-free policy, there will be a grace period after an item’s due date before it is placed in lost status with a replacement fee charged.

“We took a very deliberative and thoughtful approach to this at every step,” Chebra said. “Many other library systems have already made this change... While we may not be the first library to do away with overdue fines, we believe it is a big leap forward for equity that will result in more people and families accessing library services.”

The change was anticipated in BCLS’s 2024 budget adopted earlier this spring without increasing the county library tax levy collected from property owners.

“The revenue loss is very small... Through careful planning we are able to absorb that without cutting important programs or ongoing investments,” Chebra added. “Ending overdue fines removes a significant barrier preventing some individuals from joining or using our libraries... These underserved populations can benefit greatly from our resources.”

Das emphasized that overdue fines have proven ineffective in encouraging timely returns while deterring lower-income individuals from joining or using the library altogether.

More than 35,300 BCLS cardholders have been inactive for over a year; 23,900 have not borrowed any materials in over two years. Eliminating overdue fines allows staff more time on programs rather than collecting outstanding fines.

The fine-free policy coincides with BCLS's Summer Reading program themed "Adventure Begins at Your Library," featuring reading lists and events across age groups.

“Burlington County’s libraries have long been at the heart of our communities,” said Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion. “Moving to fine free encourages more residents to join... so we’re thrilled it takes effect at the start of summer.”

For more information about BCLS visit https://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/ or call 609-267-9660.