It has been a busy summer at the library this year.
In July alone, we held more than 70 public events and had over 1,000 attendees at those events.
Among the gems were a fantastic visit from author and recovering addict Nic Sheff, the subject of the book and movie “Beautiful Boy,” as well as our Lunch at the Library program, which averaged 21 free lunches for kids served per day throughout the summer. We had nearly 300 participants in our summer reading program and will be awarding raffle prizes in the coming weeks. We’ve truly enjoyed the enthusiasm and cheerfulness of the community visiting the library over the last few months.
The library has two new initiatives that I’d like to highlight this month.
First, we have a new service available called LINK+. Some of you may recall a service that the library had years ago called SuperSearch, which worked a bit like our Interlibrary Loan service in that we could quickly borrow materials from other libraries around California. LINK+ fills the gap where that service ended, but in an even better way: LINK+ provides an online, searchable catalog of over 70 California and Nevada libraries. Sonoma County Library cardholders can request all sorts of materials — books, DVDs, CDs and more — to be delivered right to the Healdsburg Regional Library (or your library branch of choice), usually within a week. Some requests will still need to go through our Interlibrary Loan service, which is still a useful service, but when possible we look forward to using this new system. Whenever you find that Sonoma County Library doesn’t have a copy available, you can search LINK+ for another convenient option.
Second, in case you hadn’t heard yet, we are proud to announce that the Sonoma County Library has eliminated overdue fines and removed all past fines from your accounts. Across the nation, public libraries have been examining data and coming up with the same findings — fines don’t help. Overall, they don’t make people return their materials sooner; instead, they discourage a lot of people from using their public library, either for fear of getting fined or because they are unable to pay the fines they accrued. This results in a socioeconomic equity problem; those living in lower-income areas have been more likely to have unpaid blocked accounts and thus found themselves unable to use public library services. You still need to return the books, so we charge for lost items; but if you return previously-lost items in good condition, the charges will be removed. Financially, it is a sound decision for the library; although we receive some revenue each year, the staff time for collecting and processing fines had become higher than the revenue received.
This new initiative is common among many libraries in the Bay Area and beyond. I have attended sharing sessions from fine-free library systems at library conferences over the last three years. As local examples, along with Sonoma County, library systems in Marin, Alameda and Oakland all went fine-free in July. Perhaps most recently, Seattle Public Library has just this month announced they will be eliminating overdue fines as well. Ultimately, the social impact of providing equal, equitable access for everyone in our community — breaking down information barriers and making it easier to use your library — is in the public interest and we are thrilled about the opportunity.
Jon Haupt is the branch manager of the Healdsburg Regional Library.
