Library patrons can get a break on overdue fines during the week of March 19-24, 2018. In honor of National Nutrition Month, all Fontana Regional Library locations in Macon, Jackson, and Swain Counties are participating in a “Food for Fines” amnesty week, when patrons can bring in a non-perishable food item during that week and have their overdue fines forgiven.
Food banks across the Fontana Regional Library service area will receive the donations collected at all of our library locations. In some cases, food banks have included non-food items such as toiletries on their wish lists. For more information on acceptable donations, please contact your local library.
Library users who visit any FRL location to return or renew items, and bring in a non-perishable food item or something else from the wish list, will have their overdue fines forgiven. Those who are able to do so are encouraged to donate more than a single item in order to “pay it forward” to other patrons; those who are unable to donate may still have fines forgiven and get their library accounts back in good standing by asking to donate from the “pay it forward” collection.
For library items that have already been returned but have overdue fines attached, patrons may bring in a food item and have the overdue amount forgiven. Other fees (for lost or damaged items, returned checks, collection agency services, or DVD rentals) CANNOT be forgiven. “Food for Fines” programs have gained popularity at libraries across the country. For Fontana Regional Library, the special week will be an opportunity to assist both library users and the community at large in a creative way. “Overdue fines can add up, and we’d like to give patrons a unique opportunity to pay them off while also benefiting others in the community,” said Fontana Regional Library Director Karen Wallace.
