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Late fee

A late fee, also known as an overdue fine, late fine, or past due fee, is a charge fined against a client by a company or organization for not paying a bill or returning a rented or borrowed item by its due date. Its use is most commonly associated with businesses like creditors, video rental outlets and libraries. Late fees are generally calculated on a per day, per item basis.

Organizations encourage the payment of late fees by suspending a client's borrowing or rental privileges until accumulated fees are paid, sometimes after these fees have exceeded a certain level. Late fees are issued to people who do not pay on time and don't honor a lease or obligation for which they are responsible.

Library fines, also known as overdue fines, late fees, or overdue fees, are small daily or weekly fees that libraries in many countries charge borrowers after a book or other borrowed item is kept past its due date. Library fines are an enforcement mechanism designed to ensure that library books are returned within a certain period of time and to provide increasing penalties for late items. Library fines do not typically accumulate over years or decades. Fines are usually assessed for only a few days or months, until a pre-set limit is reached.

Library fines are a small percentage of overall library budgets, but lost, stolen or un-returned library books can be costly for various levels of government that fund.

In the late 1800s, as modern circulating libraries began making checking out books possible for the general public, concerns rose about books being taken out and never returned. To encourage the return of books and to help fund the replacement acquisition of new books, libraries began assessing a fee on late books. For example, when the Aberdeen Free Library in Scotland opened in 1886, borrowers were fined a penny a week for every week a book was held longer than a fortnight.

Public libraries in New York began charging overdue fees in the late 1800s at a rate of 1 cent/day. That increased to 2 cents/day in 1954 and 5 cents/day in 1959. Before removing late fees in October 2021, the most common fee among New York City public libraries was 25 cents/day.

In recent years, many libraries have stopped charging fines. The Public Library Association and the Association of Library Services to Children have asked libraries to reconsider policies that may keep poor teens away for fear of fines. Many libraries also offer alternatives and amnesties in order to encourage patrons to return overdue books. "Food for Fines" programs, in which borrowers donate canned food in exchange for fine forgiveness, are common in libraries all over the world. Some libraries offer children and teens the option to "read down" their fines by reducing fines based on the amount of time spent reading or the number of books read. Other libraries may block access to library privileges until materials are returned. Librarians have had a longstanding debate over whether or not to charge late fines.

The American Library Association's (ALA) Policy 61 entitled, “Library Services to the Poor,” promotes the removal of all barriers to library and information services, particularly fees and overdue charges. Proponents for the elimination of fines argue for waiving fees if they are a barrier for continued use of the library. They argue that it is imperative that the library staff understand its patrons' financial situations, and that the barrier-to-use posed by fines is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. Gehner (2010) proposed that libraries work with the community to determine the community's need and to build relationships. He also posited that overdue fines could be a limiting factor: since libraries face limited funding, fees and fines represent both a source of revenue and a barrier to use.

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