The L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to not only waive past late fees but eliminate the practice completely.

L.A. County librarian Skye Patrick will now waive all fees that Angelenos have accrued from late books and other library materials.

The motion authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn argued that late fees were originally meant to be a source of revenue, but overdue fines now only make up 1% of library earnings.

“Library late fines do much more harm than good,” Hahn said Tuesday. “They make up less than 1% of our libraries’ revenue and they can dissuade people from using library services.”

Hahn added in the motion that fees add a burden to low-income families, fixed-income seniors and anyone struggling financially—adding a barrier to using library services.

In 2019, the city of Los Angeles similarly waived late fees and stopped charging for overdue borrowed materials.

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