That the Board receive the Fines Follow-up Report for information and comment.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to the digital shift, fine revenue has been gradually declining as a major source of our operating budget. Changes in policy that focus on not creating barriers has also contributed to the reduction in recent years.  In 2010 total fine revenue was $484,332, in 2015 it was $422,246, in 2017 it was $334,417 and in 2019 it was $192,546.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed restrictions on our ability to circulate physical materials.  It is hard to predict future revenue because of the uncertainty we are facing.  Because all of our Library Pages and Call-in staff are currently not working and are receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), our employee related costs for 2020 are projected to have a positive variance of $968,730.  That variance is 5 times the fine revenue we received in 2019.  

Five options are presented in this report.  The financial implications of each of the options were estimated based on pre-pandemic conditions.  It should be noted that our ability to collect fines will be very limited for the duration of the crisis.  We also should anticipate some period of economic hardship and recovery that will put financial strain on many Hamiltonians.

Option 1 – The estimated 2020 operating budget impact of eliminating all material fines and fees from March 15^th, 2020 – until the end of the pandemic phase in response to the COVID-19 pandemic would be approximately $20,000 in 2020.  That is assuming HPL will be able to re-start circulating physical materials in September.

Option 2 – Based on pre-pandemic conditions, the estimated annual operating budget impact of eliminating youth material overdue fines would be approximately $25,600.  

Option 3 - Based on pre-pandemic conditions, the estimated annual operating budget impact of eliminating youth material lost charges would be another $6,400.  (Eliminating both overdue fines and lost charges on youth materials would be estimated to be $32,000).

Option 4 - Based on pre-pandemic conditions, the estimated annual operating budget impact of eliminating adult material overdue fines would be approximately $102,400. 

Option 5 - Based on pre-pandemic conditions, the estimated annual operating budget impact of eliminating adult material lost charges would be another $25,600.  (Eliminating both overdue fines and lost charges on adult materials would be estimated to be $128,000).

Implementing options 2-4 permanently would have the effect of eliminating all fines and lost charges and would have an estimated impact of $160,000 pre-pandemic.

Cost estimates are based on the whole year and would be half as much if options were implemented midway through the year due to the closure of physical locations from March 15 until further notice.

The above estimates are based on expected overall annual fine revenue of $160,000 under our existing policies.  Last year’s fine revenue was $192,546.  With the continued shift to digital and auto-renewals in place for the whole year, $160,000 was expected.  The fine revenue estimates were pre-pandemic.  Actual fine revenues in 2020 will be lower than stated in the report.  The figures above provide an order of magnitude estimated impact we would expect in a typical year.

About 80% of fines incurred in 2019 related to overdue fees for materials returned late.  The remaining 20% related to lost charges for materials not returned.  About 20% of fines outstanding relates to youth materials and about 80% relates to adult materials.  These estimates were used to arrive at estimated cost impacts.

Based on the above information, staff are requesting permission to report to the Board in June with the plan for moving forward with option 1. Then in Q1 of 2021, with more information obtained from the option 1 implementation, we can discuss further possibilities for moving forward.

The report summarizes actions we have taken to date to reduce barriers and then it provides possible additional steps that we are asking for direction from the Library Board.   

Actions Taken to Date

The library is committed to proactively looking at barriers of HPL and developing long-term, systemic and sustainable changes that will reduce those barriers and help HPL communicate a new message of welcoming to those that do not currently feel welcome at HPL. The summary below provides the background and, in looking forward, we aim to address these areas: 

·         Service Hour Gaps

·         Awareness of Library Collections & Services

·         Other barriers 

As a key institution in the City of Hamilton we have a responsibility to provide effective service for all residents. Since 2017, we’ve increased our open hours by 171 hours a week and created a barrier free library card. Our awareness campaigns have increased our online circulation by more than 30% enabling customers to access our diverse collections from home. The library also works with partners in the community to provide a Community Resource Worker, Community Connections Support and Youth Connectors.   

In HPL’s continuing journey to transformational customer service, attention to other potential barriers to usage requires an ongoing awareness of community needs and a focus on continuous improvement. 

In this Strategic Plan the library has focused on three areas when considering unintentional customer service barriers:

- Simplifying the customer experience

- Replacing transactional tasks with transformational work

- Enhancing library capacity for programs and services

HPL’s current Strategic Plan includes:

- Reducing barriers for customers to access and use the library

- Process improvements related to customer service

In response the library started a Customer Experience Task Force June 2018.

Barriers addressed prior to 2018

- Account management including managing holds and paying fines online

- Access to DVD/CDs without staff intervention

- Print card fund add-ons

- Reserving computer time

- Self-service check-in and out at Extended Access locations

- Study Hall space at Red Hill and Terryberry branches (weekdays 9 pm – 12 midnight)

Barriers addressed in 2019

- Auto-renewal of library items  

- Language translation services at all service desks 

- Early start hours pilot at Saltfleet, Sherwood and Ancaster branches (opening at 9 am) (Valley Park, 2020)

- Expanded bookmobile stops

- Online card registration

- Fresh Start removal of all fines for customers every four year

- Restructured Fines Policy including no charge for lost library cards

Barriers that continue to be addressed:

- Service hour gaps to increase consistency of HPL’s open hours across our system

- Improved branch accessibility– Mount Hope

- Branch renovations – Valley Park, Greensville and Carlisle

- Community hub partnership – Indwell at Parkdale Landing

Potential Additional Options for the Board to Consider

The following are additional barrier reducing steps the Board could take.  In considering these, the Board could opt to act all at once, or approve some changes then consider additional steps in the future.  While the operating budget impact is modest for steps 1, 2 and 3, it is harder to know the impact of 3 & 4 because of voluntary payments we may receive.  Implementing steps 1, 2 and 3 this year, perhaps for summer reading, would give staff more time to assess the financial impact and prepare for the 2021 operating budget.  Variations of these 5 options could be considered. For example, the Board could opt for removing youth material fines but adopting a Pay-it-Forward system for Youth Lost Charges.

1.   Eliminating all fines and fees from March 15^th, 2020 – until the end of the pandemic phase – The social and economic costs and impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic has created new social and economic realities for many people and eliminating fines for the term of the pandemic would allow customers greater opportunity to have the Freedom to Discover at HPL.  Limiting cash transactions for the duration of the pandemic is a recommended risk mitigation step.  We need to be aware that preventing cash transactions, without other measures in place, would create a barrier to some of our most vulnerable customers. An alternative would be eliminate all fines and fees for youth materials and move adult fines and fees to Pay-it Forward for the duration of the pandemic. 

•  Discovery and Inspire card holders borrowing materials would not accrue overdue or lost fees
•  Estimated cost $20,000

2.   Remove Youth Materials Overdue Fines - The social and economic cost of young people not developing adequate literacy skills has led many public libraries to remove late fines for youth.   We think this is an important step to improve access that would have a significant positive benefit with only a modest budget impact.  It would be ideal to implement this for summer reading.

•  Discovery and Inspire card holders borrowing youth materials would not accrue overdue fines.
• Estimated cost $25, 600

3.   Remove Youth Materials Lost Charges – as requested by Board in February of 2020 we have included this option and financial considerations. This option creates a completely barrier free way for Hamiltonians to access youth materials from the library starting in the summer of 2020 when school libraries are closed, and the library’s Adult and Youth summer reading programs are running.

•  Discovery and Inspire card holders borrowing youth materials would not accrue overdue and lost fees
•  Estimated cost Option $32, 000

4.   Pay-it Forward for Adult Fines - For adults, we are proposing we turn overdue fines away from a punitive system to a positive one, where overdue fines are a suggestion and we encourage adults to pay what they can to support youth literacy. It is difficult to know the exact impact this would have, so we are recommending we address youth fines first and then move to the Pay-It Forward System in 2021.  That would give us sometime to access the impact of removing youth overdue fines.

5.   Pay-it Forward for Adults Lost Charges - For adults, we are proposing we turn lost charges away from a punitive system to a positive one, where lost charges are a suggestion and we encourage adults to pay what they can to support youth literacy. It is difficult to know the exact impact this would have. 

The research states:

“checkouts rose 10% at Salt Lake City Public Library, and the number of new cardholders rose 3.5%. Getting rid of fines brought new people into the library and allowed previous users to return” Imagining A Fine-Free Future https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/imagining-fine-free-future/ 2018

“doing away with fines, more people returned books on time, and others felt more welcome in the library space” Doing Fine(s)? https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=doing-fines-fines-fees 2017