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Livingston Parish Library Announces No Fines for Youth Accounts

Author
Livingston Parish Library Public Relations
Article Date
October 1, 2018

The Livingston Parish Library is excited to announce it will no longer charge overdue fines on juvenile and teen patron accounts in an effort to allow children and teens greater access to the library’s databases, resources, and services. The change will take effect October 1. 

The goal is to remove barriers that prohibit younger patrons from utilizing the library’s resources. Recent studies show that avoiding overdue fines is not an incentive for returning items in a timely manner and often becomes a barrier for students. The library believes that providing youth continued access to resources is paramount to their future, especially during their developmental years.

The policy change was approved by the library’s Board of Control at their September meeting and will only impact teen and juvenile patron accounts. All other account types will still accrue overdue charges for items kept past their return date.

Although overdue charges will not be assessed on teen and juvenile accounts, notices will still be sent when the item is nearing its due date. Items on all accounts that are not returned within 45 days of their due date will be considered “lost,” and the full cost of the item will appear on the patron’s account. Patrons can simply return the item to reverse any charges.

An additional policy change approved at the quarterly meeting included an increase in the total number of items allowed to be checked out on an adult, teen, juvenile, and senior citizen patron accounts. That limit has increased from 15 to 20 items.

The Livingston Parish Library encourages all patrons to return materials in a timely manner. Instead of allowing items to become overdue, patrons can renew them in-person by visiting their nearest branch, via telephone, or online by visiting our website at www.mylpl.info and logging into their account. For more details on renewing items online, visit www.mylpl.info/how-do-i.