In San Jose, Poor Find Doors to Library Closed; New York Times, 3/30/16

Carol Pogash, New York Times; In San Jose, Poor Find Doors to Library Closed:

"The concept of free public libraries gained support in the 1830s and was popularized by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie , who helped build 1,689 libraries around the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s on the notion that all people should have an opportunity to improve themselves. But public libraries like San Jose’s are struggling to find money to pay for books and services.

In San Jose, libraries began charging 50 cents a day for an overdue book, and what Jill Bourne, who become director of libraries in 2013, called “an exorbitant processing fee” of $20 for lost materials. Those high fines have come at a cost.

In impoverished neighborhoods, where few residents have broadband connections or computers, nearly a third of cardholders are barred from borrowing or using library computers. Half of the children and teenagers with library cards in the city owe fines. Around 187,000 accounts, or 39 percent of all cardholders, owe the library money, Ms. Bourne said.

Outsiders might think that “everyone in Silicon Valley is affluent and hyperconnected,” said Mayor Samuel T. Liccardo. He represents San Jose’s one million residents, 40 percent of whom are immigrants. “We still have a digital divide.”"

San Jose library amnesty weighed as unpaid fines near $7 million; San Jose Mercury News, 3/7/16

Ramona Giwargis, San Jose Mercury News; San Jose library amnesty weighed as unpaid fines near $7 million:

"Library cards in San Jose are blocked after patrons amass $10 or more in fines. Nearly half of all youth and teen accounts have some unpaid fines, Bourne wrote in a recent report to city leaders.

Oliverio says it's critical to "welcome back" cardholders who've been shut out because of fines, especially children who rely on the resources. He proposes a library amnesty program to forgive penalties for two weeks -- but only if people return the outstanding materials...

Other solutions proposed by Bourne include reducing or waiving fines for youths or allowing people to bring in a brand-new book to replace a lost item. People can also volunteer their time or read to pay off fines, she suggested.

But one longtime library patron thinks it's unfair to forgive other people's fines and fees.

"People have to learn the hard way," said Eddie Acevedo, 60, while browsing Spanish books at Joyce Ellington Branch Library on Thursday."