ALIA New Librarians' Symposium 9 (NLS9), 5-7 July 2019 Adelaide: collaborate deviate innovate
This presentation (PowerPoint slides) supported the talk on library fines.
In New York, until recently, 80,000 children had their library card blocked due to fines. That’s nearly one in five. In Australia thousands are denied the fundamental and enduring library service of access to knowledge and resources because of blocked cards due to fine accrual. Librarians are forced to transcend their library training and personal character to play ‘library cop’ as Seinfeld would mock.
The evidence against library fines is now so great that we must take notice in Australia. Our library services, but more accurately our politicians must take note. The problem of library fines affects us all, and it rallies against our core values as librarians.