Goodbye late fees! Salt Lake County removes late fees for children and teen materials
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Starting this week, books, music, and movies for children and teens will no longer have late fees at Salt Lake County libraries.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson proposed the idea in her 2024 budget, which was approved by the Salt Lake County Council in December 2023. The program was put to the test in pilot over the summer, which Councilmember Ann Granato said was very successful.
“This was a huge group effort to make this work and it’s so important that kids have open access to libraries and all the things that libraries offer,” Granato told ABC4.
In 2023, books, music and movies for kids and teens were checked out more than five million times at the Salt Lake County Library. Still, Salt Lake County Council Chair Laura Stringham said that late fees were a big barrier preventing children and families from coming to the library and using its resources.
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“We don’t want those barriers,” said Stringham. “We want people to have access to the resources that are available especially when they need them.”
Stringham and Granato both explained that the Salt Lake County Library has become much more of a resource center rather than a traditional library. They still offer countless books, music and movies but there is so much more available.
“Kids can come and use a green screen to make a video, people can come to take classes, they can come to check out all types of media — maps, books, CDs, videos — everything is available,” said Granato. “And they can use the internet here. There are a lot of people that do not have access to internet in their homes. The library offers that to them.”
Stringham added, “This is where you can learn skills that are vital to the jobs we have now. All of our jobs now are technologically tied to skills that didn’t exist when I was a kid, to be honest. We have those things here at the library. Most people have to know how to do a social media site, do some filming on their own, and be able to record some sound. That’s what we teach and train in the library.”
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Stringham said while she was a young mother, the late fees prevented her from using library resources. By eliminating the fees, she and other Salt Lake County officials hope more people will take advantage of everything the Salt Lake County network of libraries has to offer.
“We value children, we value their experiences, we value family life, what can we do to enhance it?” said Granato
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