San Diego is granting a one-time reprieve to thousands of young people who were barred from using the city’s libraries because they failed to return their books or other items.
A new “fresh start” program will use donations from the San Diego Library Foundation to erase replacement costs young people owe and allow them to start checking out books and using online resources again.
Library officials said the program would apply to 2,779 people under 18 who were banned because they failed to return an item. This will also apply to any young people who do not return items in the future.
Library officials said the program, modeled after a similar effort in Seattle, is an important step toward eliminating barriers to library use by young people, particularly those in foster care or from low-income families.
“We don’t want any young person to lose access to the library,” said Misty Jones, director of the San Diego Public Library.
Jones said many times young people lose their library privileges through no fault of their own. Their parent or guardian is referred to collections and can choose whether or not to pay the fee, but the minor is still banned.
This is especially likely for youth in foster care or from low-income families, Jones said. She said 64 percent of the 2,779 youth banned come from libraries in low-income areas.
If young people who regain their privileges have to pay additional fees, the New Start program will not be an option for them.
The library foundation will contribute $175,500 to cover the costs of replacing items that banned youth have not returned.
“We hope you recognize the potential value and impact on our communities,” Patrick Stewart, the foundation’s executive director, told the city council’s community and neighborhood services committee last week.
The foundation has also committed to covering the replacement costs of additional young people who benefit from the New Start program.
The city treasurer also agreed to waive $70,000 in fines and penalties beyond replacement costs.
In Seattle, 70 percent of young people who received a fee waiver returned to using library services. And 80 percent of these young people did not pay additional fees.
Jones said the program builds on the city’s 2018 elimination of overdue fines for all customers, not just youth. This change, which has become a national trend, has boosted the circulation and number of library cards issued by the city.
In October 2022, the library temporarily stopped returning minor accounts to collections so that library staff can have the opportunity to deal directly with young people and hopefully find solutions.
But this policy change, which Jones plans to make permanent, did not help the 2,779 young people who had already been excluded from the collection process.
If an overdue item is not returned within 60 days, the library patron receives an invoice for the replacement fee. If the bill is not paid within 120 days and the debt exceeds $10, the library patron is directed to collections.
Jones said it makes sense to create exceptions for young people. She notes that nearly 60 percent of students in the San Diego Unified School District are considered high-needs, meaning they qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an English learner or a young person in foster care.
The library has a special partnership with the school district where all students are eligible for Student Excel cards which provide limited withdrawals and access to resources without a traditional library card.
The municipal library system also serves half of the juvenile courts and local community schools, which educate wards of the court and youth referred by social services, probation or a school district.
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