At least in Worcester, Massachusetts, getting a pet cat can help you avoid paying overdue library books. The newspaper said that throughout March, libraries across the city will be offering discounts on late fees in exchange for photos of their cats. new york post.
The goal of this initiative is to encourage and motivate people to visit the library, even if they don’t have to pay for overdue or damaged books.
Worcester Public Library Executive Director Jason Homer told FOX News Digital:[p]People suffer and you can literally choose between paying $30 for a book that your dog ate or buying $30 worth of groceries. These are two completely different things. ”
“And humans have priorities. So we want to treat them with kindness and forgiveness and say, ‘Please be part of our community.'”
This strange initiative is affectionately known as the “cat fee waiver” program. It’s part of a larger month-long effort known as “March Meowness.”
new york times report In just a few days, the program returned hundreds of libraries, posted random cat pictures on Facebook, and painted cat pictures and paintings on the main library’s ever-growing “cat wall.” It is said that
“Librarians are book lovers, cardigan lovers, and cat lovers,” Homer says.
“My staff has a lot of cats. Some of our staff members were in a meeting thinking about how to get people back into the library, and they said, ‘We want to remove as many barriers as possible and encourage people to show pictures of their cats. What if I told him?” I thought. Do you draw cats or tell us about cats? ”
The library reportedly eliminated fines for overdue books in 2020. According to reports, the reason was that misplaced books could not be returned in person during the lockdown due to the new coronavirus infection.
“Significant studies conducted in public libraries across the country have proven that books are not returned after paying a fine,” Homer said.
“We’re going to end up losing people. Realistically, these fines didn’t do any good for the library, and it wasn’t production that actually made money. It’s more like… It was like a debt left unpaid.”
He went on to say that library book loss is now a national problem, adding, “Many places are charging $30 fees on cards even though it was out of their control and there was no malicious intent.” There is a list of children who have been arrested.”
“There’s no way to actually collect that. So, we move on. And ultimately the goal here was to find a way to get people to come to the library again. [people who] You may be afraid of being punished. We would rather work with funders to raise money so we don’t have to punish children for things that are outside of our control. ”
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