#2 Board Policy A203 Late Fees and Related Cha
Hedberg Public Library
A203 Late Fees and Related Charges
Board Policy
May 2010
Last update – March 2008
Late fees are determined according to the type of overdue materials: Adult, Juvenile,
Audiovisual, Special, Reference and Interlibrary Loan. Specific categories of patrons are not charged
late fees (Hedberg @ Home patrons, library employees, Janesville city departments, and schools and
daycare centers that have a School Card).
by
If material is returned within the library-defined grace period following the due date, no late fees are
charged.
due date
If material is returned after the grace period , the late fee is based on the total number of days
the item is overdue excluding days that the library is not open.
Interlibrary loans are not allowed a grace period. Late fees are charged beginning with the date the item
is overdue.
Patrons are responsible for the full amount of their late fees. A library account is in good standing if late
fees are $10 and under and less than one year old. Circulation staff may, in appropriate situations, waive
or reduce late fees or offer payment options to patrons.
Late Fees Fee/Day Maximum/Item
Juvenile and Young Adult Materials
Videos, CD ROMs, DVDs $0.25 $ 2.50
All other juvenile and young adult HPL materials $0.05 $ 2.00
Adult Materials
Videos, CD ROMS, DVDs $0.50 $ 5.00
Jackpot materials $0.50 $ 5.00
Magazines $0.10 $ 2.00
All other adult HPL materials $0.10 $ 4.00
Special Loans (All Materials)
Interlibrary loans $0.50 $10.00
2
Miscellaneous Charges Fee
Replacement borrower’s card $1.00
Fee card Formula-driven annual fee
Service charge for lost/replacement Interlibrary loan items $5.00
Service charge for labor-intensive circulation problems $5.00 maximum
Service charge for processing checks returned for
non-sufficient funds $20.00
Policies Relating to Late Fees Collection
1. As part of the ALS shared system; HPL will collect late fees for other libraries and vice-versa.
Libraries collecting late fees will keep the money collected no matter who owns or circulated the
materials.
2. Patrons may return HPL materials to any ALS library or to libraries in systems having
reciprocal borrowing agreements with ALS. HPL allows sufficient delivery time for
materials returned at libraries other than HPL before assessing late fees. Late fees for materials
returned after this delivery time are calculated from the original due date.
Charges for Non-Returned Materials
Shared System
Payments for lost materials from other ALS libraries will be accepted at HPL. Payments will be sent to
ALS for redistribution to the appropriate library.
Interlibrary Loan Material
If the patron fails to return materials borrowed via Interlibrary Loan, HPL receives a bill from the
lending library. These charges vary and the patron is responsible for the cost(s) specified by the lending
library (example: WILS charges cost of item + $15.00 processing charge or $40.00 for an out-of-print
item). A charge for the handling of this transaction by HPL staff is also added to the cost.
HPL Materials
Patrons who have not responded to notices/phone calls may be referred to the City Attorney for
collection through small claims court, or to a materials recovery service. At the time an account is
referred for such action, the patron shall be held responsible for all late fees accrued; court costs or fees
charged HPL by the materials recovery service; and service charges, in addition to the cost of materials
not returned. Payment for lost materials returned more than 6 months after billed status will not be
refunded.
All Materials
The police may be asked to become involved in the retrieval of any material having great value if a
patron has not responded to overdue notices and/or telephone contacts and gives no indication of plans
to return such materials.