DeKalb County Libraries will forgive overdue fines in January as part of its “New Year, New You” event.
DeKalb County Library System Director Kathy Hendrixson said the county library system has done this event for the past few years. Hendrixson said they put on the event so people are not discouraged from visiting the library due to overdue fines.
“This is the time for them to bring their books back and start back into the library again,” Hendrixson said. “We want people to use our library. That’s what we are here for. We are a public library. We especially want to get the children in here, so you know, if people have children and they are not coming to the library because they have some fines, this is a good time for them to get back into the library.”
Hendrixson said the library offers many services, such as internet access, movies, printing copies, and sending faxes. Hendrixson said it is important that people in the community take advantage of theservices that the library offers.
“Really, this is the only place that they can come to get the services that they need,” Hendrixson said. “A lot of people work, and maybe they don’t have wifi at home. And so this is a good place for them, especially children, if they have school projects, and we want children to read. So we want them back in the library to get those books to be able to read and to check out books themselves and to have a love of the library and a love of reading so that they pass that on to their children.”
Hendrixson said some people may be afraid to walk back into the library if they have fines. Hendrixson said her friendly staff hopes to change that.
“Even if we don’t have fine forgiveness, you know, there are situations where, you know, people have been sick or in the hospital, or there are things going on in their family, so we are here to help them, and we are here to work with them,” Hendrixson said. “So you know, we will forgive fines that way too.”
Hendrixson said the event does not cover lost or damaged materials, but the library is willing to try to work something out. The fine forgiveness event will run from January 2 to January 31.