San Diego is giving a once-in-a-lifetime break to thousands of children who have been banned from using the city’s libraries because they failed to return books or other items.
A new program titled “fresh start” will use donations from the San Diego Library Foundation to eliminate replacement costs owed and allow them to check out books and use online resources again.
Library officials said the program will apply to 2,779 people under the age of 18 who have been banned because they did not return an item. It will also apply to any young person in the future who does not return the items.
Library officials said the program, inspired by a similar effort in Seattle, is an important step toward removing barriers to library use by young people, especially those in foster care or low-income families. .
“We don’t want any young people to lose access to the library,” said Misty Jones, the city’s chief librarian.
Jones said many times young people lose library privileges through no fault of their own. Their parents or guardians are referred to collections and can choose whether to pay the fee, but the minor is still left out.
This is particularly likely for youth in foster care or from low-income families, Jones said. She said 64 percent of the 2,779 youth banned come from library branches in low-income areas.
If youth who have their privileges restored incur additional fees, the fresh start program will not be an option for them.
The library foundation will contribute $175,500 to cover the replacement costs of items that the youth did not return.
“We hope they recognize the potential value and impact on our communities,” Patrick Stewart, the foundation’s executive director, told the City Council’s Neighborhood and Community Services Committee last week.
The foundation has also committed to covering replacement costs for other youth who take advantage of the Fresh Start program.
The city treasurer also agreed to forgive $70,000 in fines and penalties that go beyond replacement costs.
In Seattle, 70 percent of young people who had fees waived began using library services again. And 80 percent of those young people have not accrued any additional fees.
Jones said the program builds on the city’s elimination of overdue fines in 2018 for all customers, not just youth. That change, which has become a national trend, has boosted circulation and the number of library cards the city issues.
In October 2022, the library temporarily stopped referring youth accounts to collections so that library staff could have the opportunity to deal directly with youth and hopefully find solutions.
But that policy change, which Jones plans to make permanent, did not help the 2,779 youth who had already been excluded from the collections process.
If an overdue item is not returned within 60 days, the library patron receives an invoice for replacement costs. If the bill is not paid within 120 days and the debt exceeds $10, the library patron is referred to collections.
Jones said it makes sense to create exceptions for young people. She notes that nearly 60 percent of students in the San Diego Unified School District are considered high needs, meaning they are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch, be English learners or foster youth.
The library has a special partnership with the school district where all students are eligible for Student Excel cards that provide limited borrowing and access to resources without a traditional library card.
The city’s library system also serves half of the local juvenile courts and community schools, which educate wards of the court and youth who have been referred by social services, probation or a school district.
2024-04-06 23:32:00
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