Ms. McDonald, CEO advised
Trustees that the presentation this evening concerns a staff recommendation
to move from an Overdue Fines Model to a Materials Recovery Model, thereby
eliminating late fees - something that she has wanted to bring forward for a
long time. She thanked Anna Basile, Division Manager, Corporate Services for
her leadership in getting this report to the Board and Catherine Seaman,
Division Manager, Customer Experience for her support on this initiative. Ms.
Seaman provided background and context, specifically related to barriers to
service and race and social equity, and explained the Materials Recovery
Model process. Ms. Basile provided information about the financial aspect of
moving to the new model, including administrative costs, fees as “revenue,” and
the financial impacts of either a full or a partial transition to the new model
in 2021. (Presentation held on file with the Chief Executive Officer).
Trustee Tierney said
staff have done tremendous work on this file.
Trustee Slack congratulated
staff on the hard work over the last few years and hoped the report will be
received by everyone.
Trustee Meehan asked if
staff are requesting the Board to approve one additional full-time position
as part of this report.
Ms. McDonald, CEO said that the report was in fact indicating that, if the full implementation is approved, there will be a
savings of one full-time position as
part of the budget process.
With respect to a
question from Trustee Meehan regarding whether staff had considered retaining
a nominal late return fee, for instance in the amount of one dollar, Ms.
McDonald said a nominal fee was not considered as the Board previously
approved a reduction in the amount of fees. She indicated there is enough
evidence to remove fees as ultimately fees
are a barrier
to service, and retaining a nominal fee would not align with the Strategic
Priority to reduce barriers to access. She added that OPL wants to ensure
equal access to the services. Ms. Basile mentioned that late fees are currently
approximately 10 cents
(depending on the material), on
certain materials per day (therefore already quite low); however, the bigger
issue for many residents is how late fees accumulate into larger amounts.
Ms. Meehan commented that
a nominal fee would be reminder that materials need to be returned.
Trustee Higdon said he
initially had trepidations about the model, however, this is the direction that
many library systems have recently gone. He said staff have put in place
financial protections if customers take advantage of the model.
Vice-Chair Fisher said
she supports the model. Although she appreciated remarks that fees help
ensure rules are followed, she said there are other ways to do so. The model
is a good alternative as it about raising customers’ awareness about their
responsibilities, using technology solutions. The Vice-Chair is committed to
support staff’s racial and social equity initiatives. She thanked the CEO and
staff as much thought and analysis was put into the report.
Trustee Brown was
encouraged that OPL and other library systems are eliminating fees, as she agrees
they are a barrier. She urged staff to be cognizant of residents’ financial
literacy skills when making decisions, and the impact of customers’ accounts
going to a collection agency. She asked staff to clarify the timeline in which
a customer is sent to a collection agency, and whether the proposed changes
make this period longer or shorter. Ms. Seaman said the proposed model extends
the period before a customer’s account is sent to collections, and that staff
will also be increasing the number of messages to the customers before an
account is sent to collections.
Further to a question
from Trustee Brown about whether the new model will be applied to all items
that customers can borrow, including specifically Chromebooks and musical
instruments, Ms. Seaman indicated that this is correct. Staff will be
monitoring very closely going forward and bring changes accordingly.
Trustee Brockington stated
he was startled by the statistics in the report with respect to the number of
customers with outstanding late fees. He agrees it is incumbent on the Board
to eliminate as many barriers as possible, as libraries are for everyone. He
was concerned that the model was restricting the Board to one option. He indicated
that research he had done found that six-week amnesty periods have also been
successful (such as the one conducted by San Francisco Public Library). He
added that fees are a motivator to bring materials back; regardless of whether
there are fees or not, some items will continue to be returned late or lost. He
suggested the Board approve the model for children and youth only in the 2021
budget, and continue to monitor late fees, and see if there is a positive
impact on customers as a result. He urged the Board to proceed with caution,
but he acknowledged that he does not want to vote against the model, as it
has strong merits. Ms. McDonald thanked Trustee Brockington for his comments.
She said staff considered an amnesty, however, she felt that that an amnesty model
is a one-time solution and does not address the root of the problem, which is
achieving long-term access for everyone.
Trustee Begg worried that
by removing barriers at one place may create an additional one in another
place and urged staff to have a solid implementation monitoring process in place
to ensure there are no unintended impacts. For instance, Trustee Begg was
eager to ensure that placing a customer’s account in collections will not
have an unduly negative impact on a customer. He was also worried that without
late fees, customers may treat the overdue period as an extended loan period,
particularly for Express items, and that staff will need to monitor this
carefully. He asked staff to elaborate on how overdue items may decline with
this model. Ms. Seaman said that based on data from other libraries, staff may
see a decrease both in the average number of days materials are returned
beyond their due date and in the number of items that “age” to lost. Other libraries
that have adopted similar models have not reported an increase in materials
returned late, longer hold times or gaps in their collection, nor any
concerns with their Express collections. In fact, Salt Lake Public Library
saw a decrease of items returned late and a circulation increase of 14%, and
an 11% increase in cardholders after their first year. As well, Chicago
Public Library had an increase of 240% of materials returned in just three
weeks of going late-fee-free. She said OPL’s process is very much aligned
with other library systems. Staff will be monitoring the numbers for all
collections and, if needed, will adjust the process accordingly.
Trustee Begg asked if the
somewhat “bland” format of the emails sent to customers will be improved,
particularly overdue notification emails. Ms. Basile indicated that staff recently
acquired a new tool that will allow messages to be formatted differently and
provide increased functionality in the messages.
Further to a question
from Trustee Begg regarding whether staff are looking at eliminating other
fees that are punitive in nature, Ms. Basile said to the best of her
knowledge, OPL does not have other punitive fees. Other fees that OPL
collects are with aligned with cost recovery (for example, fees for meeting
rooms, use of Image Space equipment, and so on).
Vice-Chair Fisher said
staff’s comments regarding the monitoring that will take place were
reassuring. She was not in favour of rolling out the model to youth and
children only as other groups such as seniors, newcomers, and different
communities would then continue to be impacted by late fees. She urged the
Board to commit to racial and social equity and re-iterated the value the
model will bring to customers. Although there is a budget implication, she
fully supports staff recommendations.
Written correspondence
was submitted to the Board prior to the start of the meeting, as noted:
·
Vladimir
Uher, President, Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA).
·
George
Macdonald, President, Barrhaven Food Cupboard.
·
Monique
Doolittle-Romas, Executive Director, The Good Companions Centre.
·
Martine
Dore, Interim Executive Direction, Cornerstone Housing for Women.
Trustee Tierney called
for yeas and nays.
YEAS (9): Chair Luloff, Vice-Chair Fisher,
Trustees Begg, Brockington, Brown, Higdon, Meehan, Slack, Tierney
Nays (0)
Chair Luloff summarized by saying
the Board has made a historic decision this evening, setting the policy
direction to go late late-fees-free. Regardless of someone’s income,
situation or background, the Library exists to support learning, and ensure
knowledge and ideas are available to everyone. He mentioned that research
shows that late fees affect disadvantaged or vulnerable communities
disproportionately and create a barrier that prevents people who could
greatly benefit from using libraries from using them. He said that overdue fees
for him run contrary to the overall mission of the Library to serve everyone –
inclusively. He said this policy will be built into the proposed OPL 2021 budget,
which Council will be asked to approve.
Following the vote, Trustee Brockington indicated
that removing late fees does not address the underlying access issue in the
City: the lack of long-term access for everyone in the City in particular those in high-risk communities.
He urged the Board to have a
broader discussion about this issue in the future.
Trustee Brockington left the meeting at 7:20 p.m.
Chair recognized the contribution
of Trustee Tierney as previous Chair of the OPL Board. He thanked staff for
the unanimous decision and the work of the CEO and incredible staff.
Trustee Meehan left the meeting at 7:21 p.m.
There being no further
discussion, the report was CARRIED as presented.
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