For years, Baldwin Library staff members have sought to remove barriers to library services, with the end goal of eliminating late fines in order to make the Library more accessible to everyone.
Various steps were taken throughout the years, including increasing the renewal limits on items, increasing the loan period on children’s materials, increasing the fine limit for checkouts, and removing fine limits for computer access.
In 2018, library staff members across the county did extensive research into late fines, including reading articles about other library systems experiences with fine free services. Libraries across the country are eliminating late fines, with no reported negative outcomes. Based on this comprehensive research, it was determined that eliminating fines was a feasible option that would improve library access to communities.
In 2019, Baldwin Library joined a group of 11 other Allegheny County libraries, to further explore this service and develop a plan of implementation for a 4-month pilot program. After months of planning,
The Board of Trustees approved the Library’s participation in the pilot program in July 2019, made effective beginning September 1, 2019.