Library drops late book fines, unblocks 1,000 cards

• Just over $43,000 in library fines were dropped and cards of about 1,000 people were unlocked.

Catch up fast: The American Library Association has advocated its members eliminate fines since 2019.

• Waukee, Altoona and Clive are among the metro's public libraries that have eliminated most fines.

State of play: DMPL eliminated fines on children's and teen materials in 2020 and did away with a $1 DVD checkout fee in 2022.

• There are still late fines for items from the "Library of Things" and some other special loan materials.

Zoom in: Books not returned within 14 days of their due date are considered lost and could result in a replacement charge.

• Replacement charges are removed if the item is returned within three months.

Of note: The DMPL collected roughly $33,000 in fines in the fiscal year that ended last June. That's less than one-third of 1% of its annual operating budget, spokesperson Tim Paluch tells Axios.