New London to hold ‘Food for Fines’

By Scott Bellile

Forgetting to return a DVD to the New London Public Library on time will now be a less costly mistake.

The library board unanimously voted Monday, Feb. 15, to lower the fine for late DVDs from 50 cents per day to 10 cents per day.

“We’ll probably make more money by lowering it,” Library Director Ann Hunt told the board. “If somebody has a $10 fine, they don’t even think about [paying] that.”

The 80-percent drop will make the DVD rate equal to the dime-a-day charge for late books. Hunt said higher fines for DVDs were once necessary when they were new and expensive to buy, but the technology has aged and books have caught up to the cost of DVDs.

“Really, DVDs, they’re not going to be around in a couple more years. It’s all going to be streaming,” Hunt said.

Libraries in Hortonville, Shiocton, Kimberly, Little Chute and Appleton have all implemented similar fee adjustments, Hunt said.

Library patrons looking to finally pay off some overdue media will be able to do it with a food donation to the New London Community Cupboard next month. The board approved holding a Food for Fines drive March 7-20.

There is no particular guideline for how many foods cover a particular dollar amount, but Hunt recommended patrons contribute one nonperishable food item for every 50 cents to $1 in overdue media.

But patrons can’t use food to buy off unreturned materials or e-readers—the library still wants those back.