Door County libraries have received enough donations to fully fund the initial year of the fine free policy in 2024
https://www.co.door.wi.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09182023-1530 lists the following three items, all on different pages
The Library received a $2,000 grant from United Way of Door County to support its fine free initiative in 2024.
A grant of $3,000 was received from the Door County Library Foundation to help cover the initial year of going fine free for library materials. Our thanks for their generous assistance in this initiative as it is now fully funded
08/29/23 Library Donation XXXXX XXXXX Fine Free Initiative 120.00 [name redacted for this post]
From these items, it seems to be a sure thing that Door County Libraries will not be charging fines in 2024 or at least starting sometime in 2024, although they haven’t actually approved anything yet.
I discussed this topic in April 2023, https://doorcounty.substack.com/p/libraries-in-door-county-may-stop, and might as well restate some of it.
It is possible to cloak a fine free policy with various political talking points. But if a fine free policy is successful, it does not follow that the talking points are true.
Rather, this is an issue of supply and demand. Demand for the libraries has been down, so it should be possible to increase demand by lowering the price. Checkout is free, and library cards are free to residents, so fines act as a sort of price, along with time and effort and transportation costs.
There are as many as 28 Little Free Libraries in Door County, if the map at https://app.littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap is accurate. They have no fines and for some, better convenience. So with Door County Libraries going fine free, that could help them be competitive, rather than losing circulation to Little Free Libraries or free downloads on tablets and e-readers.
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