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PCPL eliminating late fees for books
The result of what Board President Kayla Flegal said has been an ongoing discussion for some time, the Putnam County Public Library’s board of trustees approved a new policy Wednesday evening in which fees for overdue books, as well as multimedia such as DVDs and video games, will no longer apply.
The new policy, however, retains charges for lost books and library cards, as well as for copying and printing. Effectively, the only remaining fine pertains to overdue items checked out from the Library of Things, which holds loanable items such as board games, tools and crafting supplies.
The cost to replace a library card remains $3. Charges for copying will still stand at 10 cents per side for black-and-white, 50 cents per side for color and microfilm at 10 cents per side. Computer printouts stay at 10 cents for black-and-white and 50 cents for color. The charge for accounts forwarded to a collection agency, meanwhile, is $10.
As for overdue items from the Library of Things, there is a user fee of $2 a day (excluding Sundays and days when the library is closed otherwise), in which other checkouts will not be allowed until those items are returned. Damaged items in patrons’ possession will also be assessed, but the charge will not exceed their actual cost. There will also be a $5 fee for each item lost.
Library Director Matt McClelland said at the meeting that doing away with book late fees specifically was in light of realizing during Covid that the library was not reliant on them. On the whole, he suggested the change is meant to encourage more people to utilize PCPL’s resources.
In other business:
• The board approved an amendment to the library’s bylaws, which have not been reviewed since 2018. The change is removing references to the library’s business operations manager as also being the board’s treasurer. This is meant to clarify that both positions are separate, with the former being a paid staff member as such.
• More or less volunteering as the only ones physically present except for Flegal, Vice President Alan Zerkel, Secretary Shannon Green and Barbara Boese were designated as a committee for nominating members to board positions. Officers will be expected to be approved next month.
• The board approved for McClelland to dispose of old fabric chairs and iMac computers as surplus.
• Acting on a discussion from last month, the board approved by consensus for the minimum amount to be named on a new donor wall to be set at $500. McClelland said plates for the wall were in, and reiterated the expectation that donations would not be designated under different levels.
He also expressed hope that the wall would be seen as a permanent recognition, as opposed to a tree or a bench.
• The board passed a resolution approving for three-percent increases for cost of living beginning May 1. The resolution noted inflation and gas prices as reasoning for the increases, and that they would be covered with savings from planned expenses like snow removal.
• The board approved two resolutions pertaining to wages. Archivist Anthony Barger was awarded a five-percent wage increase, while a one-percent wage adjustment was approved for Library Asst. Director Jane Hazelton. The resolutions cited keeping up with increased workload as reasoning for the increases, which will be effective for the next pay period.
Aside from McClelland, Hazelton, Flegal, Boese, Green and Zerkel being present, Tiffany Shields joined virtually.
The next regular meeting of the Library Board is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25 at 6 p.m. in the Kiwanis Room at the library.