Community briefs

Library ends late fines

The Santa Clara County Library District has eliminated late fines for all materials, including books, magazines, music and movies, effective, Jan. 1. Existing late fines will also be forgiven so that patrons can start the year with a clean slate. Patrons may not see existing fines removed from their accounts until later in the month. Fees for lost items will remain, and the processing fees have been reduced for most items.

County libraries also recently launched a new auto-renewal feature that automatically extends due dates on eligible materials. There are a few requirements for eligibility, including more available copies than holds, and not reaching the maximum number of five renewals. Patrons will receive notifications with each successful auto-renewal.

Curbside and walkup pickup services for holds continue at all seven county libraries, including Cupertino.

Software scholarships

To help aspiring software developers learn their trade, Facebook this year doubled its regular donation to App Academy’s coding boot camp, which serves Bay

Area youth.

Facebook’s $500,000 donation will go toward App Academy’s Access Scholarship program for students in marginalized communities.

“We know COVID has had an outsized impact on underrepresented communities, and we hope these scholarships will help ease the financial barrier of pursuing a new career in tech at this critical time,” John Cantarella, Facebook’s vice president of social good and community partnerships, said in a statement.

For more information about the Access Scholarship program, visit https://www.appacademy. io/access-scholarship.