King County libraries clear all late fines in ‘Fresh Start’ initiative
As of Wednesday, all King County Library System patrons’ late fines were cleared in a new initiative called “A Fresh Start for All.”
According to library officials, the cleared fines will give every library user a fresh start before it resumes charging late fines again.
Because of the pandemic, many people were hit with hardships and to help ease the pain, the library system said it decided in March 2020 to stop assessing late fines, understanding that patrons might have accumulated overdue materials. However, patrons will have until Sept. 15 to return those items before fines are assessed again.
Here’s what happened on May 4:
All accounts automatically received a one-time waiver of late fines.
Charges for lost and damaged materials will remain on accounts.
Items that are more than 30 days overdue will be processed as lost. Replacement charges for these items will appear on accounts.
Patrons with lost materials and balances greater than $25 will receive billing notices. Patrons will have until Sept. 15 to return items or pay fees before accounts are blocked.
Starting Sept. 15:
The library will resume charging late fines.
Accounts with balances greater than $25 will be blocked. Blocked accounts will not be able to renew items or check out additional materials.
The library will introduce automatic renewals. They will renew checked-out materials if there are no other holds on them. More information about this feature will be available later this summer.
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