Are fines for overdue books really that punitive?

Few institutions are as generously accommodating as public libraries.

They invite practically anyone in to browse, borrow and lounge.

Aside from a “Shhhh!” for upsetting their quiet decorum, about the sternest action librarians take is to impose a fine for overdue books.

Now even that is going away. Beginning in November, Phoenix libraries are dropping their overdue book fees. I, for one, will miss ’em. Certainly, the motivation for eliminating fees is admirable. The move — via a unanimous vote by the Phoenix City Council — mirrors those by a growing number of U.S. cities to do away with what the American Library Association calls “a form of social inequity.”

The association’s resolution in January and call for action continue a movement. Maricopa County decided in May to drop overdue book fees in its library system.

The fines create a barrier for the poor, the reasoning goes. Evidence shows, according to the association, that removing late fees increases library use.

An even stronger argument is that children represent a large number of library users and that fines – and resulting suspensions of accounts – punish the poorer kids for essentially their parents’ oversight.

In that light, forgiving late fees is a magnanimous gesture. (Try petitioning that with any other institution and see where it gets you.)

Still, it’s a shame to see the fines go away.

The fines are not overly burdensome — 20 cents per item per day. And the $200,000 or so collected each year, while small (less than 1% of the Phoenix library system’s budget), is no chump change.

Nor is there evidence that eliminating the fees reduces the amount of material returned late. Or that it changes the behavior of those who are habitually late.

In reality, fines are part and parcel to library etiquette. Check out a book? Bring it back in the condition it was taken and by the due date. Otherwise, there’s a small penalty that escalates over time. Seems fair. And egalitarian.

You wonder how much more mindful, or less, folks will be following the change.

Regardless, library patrons have one more reason to return the courtesy. As if they needed it.