Adios Library Fines!

[Razors Edge ★]

I have always hated that our library fines went to the county general fund rather than directly back into the library itself.  Good riddance!  I wonder if @denniS likes a fine-free system?

At its Dec. 8 virtual meeting, the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) Board of Trustees approved a new policy that ends the practice of charging overdue fines on most library materials.

....

Library systems around the nation, including in all neighboring counties, have gone fine-free and experienced surges in returned materials. These systems have also found that their cardholders continue to return materials on time, even without the threat of fines, Hudson said.

[dinneR ★]

I read an article about Ramsey County in MN getting rid of overdue fines. Circulation shot up. It seems like most libraries are getting rid of them.

[MickinMD ★]

Our county library used to have fine-free days one week every couple of years.  I don't know now: I haven't checked anything out for a while.

The county and Baltimore City have a connected system: you can check stuff out in one and take it back to the other.  The last time I checked stuff out was from the big, downtown main city public library.

[jsharr ★]

[Dirtyhip]

12 minutes ago, jsharrwick said:

I need to return that copy of "Tropic of Cancer."

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Dirtyhip said:

I need to return that copy of "Tropic of Cancer."

...and why is there no love for "Tropic of Capricorn"?  Both were banned. Both were "saucy".  Jeebus, just not fair!

Gotta give Wiki credit for a fun write-up:

During a three-week vacation from Western Union in 1922, Miller wrote his first novel, Clipped Wings, a study of 12 Western Union messengers. It has never been published; only fragments remain, although parts of it were recycled in later works, including in the brief portraits of Western Union messengers in Tropic of Capricorn.^[1][2]

In the spring of 1927, Miller was living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights with his second wife June Miller and her lesbian lover, Jean Kronski. He had recently obtained a new job working for the Parks Department. One day, he returned home to find a note saying they had taken a boat to Paris. Soon after, Miller moved back in with his parents in Brooklyn. One night in May 1927, Miller stayed at the Parks Department office after work and typed up a 32-page document he called June, outlining the details of their relationship. He would use the document as source material for Tropic of Capricorn as well as The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy.^[3]Miller would also repurpose numerous scenes into Tropic of Capricorn from his unpublished third novel Lucky Lesbians (later retitled Crazy Cock), which he worked on from 1928 to 1930 and which was ultimately published in 1991 (over a decade after his death).^[4]

Miller began writing Tropic of Capricorn in earnest toward the end of 1933 while living in Paris. At the time, he was also writing Black Spring, and putting the finishing touches on Tropic of Cancer.^[5][6] Early on, he referred to Tropic of Capricorn as "the June book." His biographer Robert Ferguson called the book Miller's attempt at "retrieving in written form as much as possible of the disappearing past."^[7] Although referred to as "the June book," his second wife is more of an influence than a primary character, making only a short appearance.^[8] The book is dedicated "To Her," in reference to June.^[9]

[shootingstar]

City where I am, they scrapped local library fines about 9 yrs. ago or so.  It's a large enough library system that's heavily used.  I can see the level of interest some of niece's books, on number of holds in lineup for a title.  (which is a drag...to wait).

[Rattlecan ★]

1 hour ago, shootingstar said:

City where I am, they scrapped local library fines about 9 yrs. ago or so.  It's a large enough library system that's heavily used.  I can see the level of interest some of niece's books, on number of holds in lineup for a title.  (which is a drag...to wait).

Our local library dropped overdue fines some time last year. I guess it's a thing everywhere now.