With the Internet, audio books and all sorts of other new media, libraries have been struggling to figure out how to keep visitors coming in their doors. Fines are considered old school by most institutions because they tend to keep people away, said Barbara Lovato-Gassman, associate director of the main library at Central New Mexico Community College, formerly TVI.
“What libraries are trying to do now is make it easier to come to the library and check out books,” Lovato-Gassman said. “There are so many alternatives.”
The library hasn’t charged fines in the seven years she’s been there. The school also puts a freeze on late books, or on student transcripts if books aren’t returned by the time a student graduates, Lovato-Gassman said.
Fines versus Account Freeze
They say fines scare people away, which I question in the academic environment. The people that have fines, have fines year after year. They have not stopped using the library.
How does freezing an account have any different effect?