The Gloucester City Library is proud to announce that it will be fine-free, effective Saturday, August 1st, 2026. The Library will no longer charge daily late fees for most items, and previous fines will be forgiven so long as patrons make a small contribution to their accrued amount. The Library’s mission is to provide access to resources in a variety of formats that inform, educate, enlighten, and entertain our diverse community. By removing accrued fines and late fees on the majority of our items, the Library can further its commitment to serving the Gloucester City community.
The Gloucester City Library follows in the footsteps of several libraries around the state and the country by removing or reducing fines and therefore eliminating this potential barrier to library resources. In a 2019 policy resolution, the American Library Association stated that “imposition of monetary library fines creates a barrier to the provision of library and information services.” Research conducted in 2020 by Syracuse University’s iSchool Public Libraries Initiative found that public libraries’ fine-free policies encouraged more patrons to use the library, granted librarians more time to focus on other library services and tasks, and generated an increase in item returns (potentially resulting in shorter hold times and fewer permanently lost items).
Gloucester City Library’s new Circulation policy no longer includes daily fines for most overdue materials, though some penalties for unreturned items do remain. Patrons with items overdue by more than 14 days will be unable to check out more materials (including digital and Interlibrary Loan materials) until all overdue items have been returned or replaced. For items that are lost or overdue beyond 35 days, patrons will be charged for the replacement cost plus a small processing fee.
Daily late fees will still apply to high-demand items, namely museum passes, mobile hotspots, and “2-night loan” DVDs. Materials that belong to other libraries and are processed through Interlibrary Loan may also be subject to fines, which are determined by their lending institution.
Please visit our Library Policies page for more information on the new Circulation policy.
