Literacy Push by OCPL

The Onondaga County Public Library system is making a push for children's literacy in the Syracuse area. In a new policy being enacted by the library, the fine for overdue children's material is 10 cents per day, down from the original 25 cent per day fine. There is also a maximum five-dollar limit for each fine. Administrators at the library said that simple measures, like decreasing the fine for late books, will encourage more book borrowing.

"We want to remove as many barriers as we can for the people using the library for children's materials especially," said OCPL Youth Services Coordinator Roz NaPier. NaPier said many parents and children in the Syracuse area don't have the resources to return books on time. Because of this, many families build up heavy fines for overdue books. The idea is that lesser fines will encourage people to keep borrowing, even if it means returning books a few days late.

Rachel Cullivan and her four year old son Keith visit the library several times a week. As a student, she gets her school work done while Keith plays and reads books with friends. Because they don't check books out very often, Cullivan said the lower fines will have little effect on her and her family, but she can she how it might affect people. "If you spread the word about that, then I guess more people might be less afraid to take out library books. In case they kept them out too long and had a whole bunch of fines."

The library also has other programs that encourage literacy among children. The OCPL's summer reading program not only gives children a place to go during vacation, but it encourages learning even when kids are not in school. According to NaPier, any child who signs up for the summer program and reads more than five books will have all fines waived from his or her account. This is an incentive for parents who have accrued fines to enroll their kids in order to get rid of fines and it helps the kids as well.

When it comes down to it though, NaPier said that all of these library programs and policies are about one thing. "The main emphasis is to get children exposed to books so the easier we can make that for people the better."