In 2012 the Colorado State Library (CSL) studied how to encourage parents of 0-3 year-olds to develop daily habits of early literacy. Part of that was identifying barriers to library use.
Local resident Sharon Morris (MLIS, Ph.D.) worked at CSL and was involved on the team. She spoke at our Feb. 6, 2025 board meeting and described a focus group with teen mothers. One mom said she didn’t take her children to the library because she couldn’t afford it. Sometimes they couldn’t get the books back on time. Sometimes a toddler damaged a book and it had to be replaced. They opted to stay away.
The second mom said she got that. But she took her kids to the library anyhow. The programs were free. They could hang out and read there. Her hack: just don’t check anything out.
The third mom looked knowingly at Sharon as if to say, “I’ve got this, sister.” Not to worry, said the mom. I check out books but I put them on a high shelf at home so the children can’t get to them. That way they can’t damage or lose them.
Stories like these break librarians’ hearts. The sooner and more you read to your kids the more likely they are to have better vocabularies, to feel empathy for others, to do better in school, to wind up free and not in jail, to be healthier as children and live longer as adults. Plus you get to have fun with them. The whole point of our collection is to get used.
That study lead to the publication of a white paper and subsequent statements around 2016. It proved influential. Today, many public libraries have eliminated fines on late returned times for children, and some libraries, like the Garfield County Public Library District in 2020, eliminated them altogether.
We still charged for lost and damaged children’s materials. But during a review of Collection standards promulgated by the Colorado State Library, staff and board took a look at that. The standard recommends that we “Remove late fines and damaged/replacement fees on children’s and teen materials to make the collection accessible and reduce barriers for youth, families, and other caregivers.”
Did lost and damaged charges constitute a barrier to use by the people who most benefit from library materials in the home?
In 2023, we collected a little over $11,000 in lost or damaged fees for all materials. That’s about a thousandth of a percent of our budget. In 2024 we billed roughly $18,000 for juvenile materials.
Local resident Sharon Morris (MLIS, Ph.D.) worked at CSL and was involved on the team. She spoke at our Feb. 6, 2025 board meeting and described a focus group with teen mothers. One mom said she didn’t take her children to the library because she couldn’t afford it. Sometimes they couldn’t get the books back on time. Sometimes a toddler damaged a book and it had to be replaced. They opted to stay away.
The second mom said she got that. But she took her kids to the library anyhow. The programs were free. They could hang out and read there. Her hack: just don’t check anything out.
The third mom looked knowingly at Sharon as if to say, “I’ve got this, sister.” Not to worry, said the mom. I check out books but I put them on a high shelf at home so the children can’t get to them. That way they can’t damage or lose them.
Stories like these break librarians’ hearts. The sooner and more you read to your kids the more likely they are to have better vocabularies, to feel empathy for others, to do better in school, to wind up free and not in jail, to be healthier as children and live longer as adults. Plus you get to have fun with them. The whole point of our collection is to get used.
That study lead to the publication of a white paper and subsequent statements around 2016. It proved influential. Today, many public libraries have eliminated fines on late returned times for children, and some libraries, like the Garfield County Public Library District in 2020, eliminated them altogether.
We still charged for lost and damaged children’s materials. But during a review of Collection standards promulgated by the Colorado State Library, staff and board took a look at that. The standard recommends that we “Remove late fines and damaged/replacement fees on children’s and teen materials to make the collection accessible and reduce barriers for youth, families, and other caregivers.”
Did lost and damaged charges constitute a barrier to use by the people who most benefit from library materials in the home?
In 2023, we collected a little over $11,000 in lost or damaged fees for all materials. That’s about a thousandth of a percent of our budget. In 2024 we billed roughly $18,000 for juvenile materials.
According to some careful staff analysis, we learned that once a child’s card gets a fee of as small as $4 (accounting for about 516 cards in 2024), 35% of them didn’t check anything out for the next six months. In other words, we lost 180 patrons. If they’re not coming back, we’re probably not recovering the fee, either.
At our last board meeting our board decided that checking out and suffering some damage to our materials is a cost of doing library business. Our goal is not to punish our youngest library users but to promote reading.
Effective immediately, we will no longer be charging for lost or damaged juvenile materials. That’s anything filed in our juvenile or children’s sections. Please help us pass along an important message: If you’ve been staying away, come back. If you’ve been hanging back, please join us.
There really are very few things you can do with your children that are as powerful and life-affirming as surrounding them with books and reading them together.
My thanks to Sharon Morris, the Colorado State Library, and staff for helping us use data to do the right thing.
At our last board meeting our board decided that checking out and suffering some damage to our materials is a cost of doing library business. Our goal is not to punish our youngest library users but to promote reading.
Effective immediately, we will no longer be charging for lost or damaged juvenile materials. That’s anything filed in our juvenile or children’s sections. Please help us pass along an important message: If you’ve been staying away, come back. If you’ve been hanging back, please join us.
There really are very few things you can do with your children that are as powerful and life-affirming as surrounding them with books and reading them together.
My thanks to Sharon Morris, the Colorado State Library, and staff for helping us use data to do the right thing.
[This column ran in the February 21, 2025 issue of the Post Independent.]
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