HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009 Resolution No. 037•
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RESOLUTI ON NO. ;!2_
SERlES OF 2009
A RE S LUTION AUTHORIZING THE ENGLEWOOD PUBLI C LIBRARY TO
IMPLEMENT THE '·SUMMER FOOD FOR FINES" PROGRAM FROM TUESDAY.
MAY 26th THROU GH SUNDAY , JUNE 7. 2009 .
WHEREAS . the Englewood Put.li e Library ha s sponsored a "Food for Fines" program since
I 990 ; and
WHEREAS , the "Food for Fine s" program all ows patron s with overdu e fines on their overdue
library mueri als to "pay" them off through th e donation of non -perishable foo d items ; and
WHEREAS , the food items are then forwarded to the lnterFaith Community Services for their
··food bank" di strib uti on to finan cia ll y disadvantaged fami li es in the Englewood area ; and
WHEREAS , the program is a benefit to the community in that the di sadvantaged are ass isted ;
the air cleared with respect to fines ; the City receives its library materials back and the program
presents a positi ve image of the Libra!)' and the City .
NOW THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNC IL OF THE CITY OF
ENGLEWOOD , COLORADO , THAT :
Secti on I. The Englewood City Co uncil hereb y authorizes the Englewood Public Library 's
imp lementation of the "Summer Food For Fines" program from Tuesda y, May 26th , through
Sunday , June 7, 2009 . The collected food will then be forwarded to the ~llerFaith Community
Services for distribution to financially di sadva nta ged families in the Englewood area .
ADOPTED AND APPROVED thi s 4th da y of May, 2009 .
I, Loucri shi a A. Elli s. Cit y Clerk for,J,T/Ci ty of Englewood . Co
ubove is a tru e copy of Resolution No . .:S . Series of 200 .
o, hereby cc nify the
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COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
Date: Agenda Item: Subject :
'v1a y 4, 2009 9 C i Englewood Pu bli c Lib1 ary 's 2009
''Sum mer Food ior Fin es" Prog ra m
Initiated By: I Staff Source:
Li b rary Department Hank Long, Director of Library Services
COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
Th e Library ha s sponsored this po pular p rogram since 1990 , and each ye ar th e City Counci l ha s
voiced its suppo rt. In 2003 , th e an nual Food for Fines program was ex panded to twice a yea r at
the re ques t of the Library Bo ard, and subs equently approved by City Coun c il , for two weeks during
th e summer as well as two weeks betwee n Th anksg iving and Christr,,o • as a way to mitiga te r~e
increas ·• in Overdue Libra ry Fin es anC: as a wa!' to encoura ge th e tim ely return of EPL material s so
that th ey ca n be us ed by mo re p eopl e. Th e two w eeks of the Summ er Food for Fines program
covers th e las t week of th e publi c <chool year and the fi rst week oi vaca ti o ns , a tim e during w hi ch
students and teachers are cleaning o ut their desks and lockers in preparation for the summ er brea k
and numerous ove rdu e Library materials are located, whereas the two weeks of th e Winter Food
fo r Fines pr08• ,m traditionall y cove rs th e period in between th e Th anksgiving and Ch ri stmas
ho lidays. Histo ricall1•, each of th ese two biannual eve nts raises an es timated $1 ,5 00 · $2 ,000 in
d o nated n o n-pe rishabl e food items fo r th e Interfaith Com m unit)' Services food bank.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Th e Libra!)' D epartme~t recomm en ds City Counci l approve a reso lution authorizing th e Li b ra ry
D epartment to implement its 2009 Summer Food for Fines program from Tuesday, May 26 th rough
Sunday, June 7, 2009.
BACKGROUND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED
Fo r th e past 19 yea rs , th e Englewo o d Publi c Li bra!)' has provid ed its "Food for Fin es" program as .1
way for th ose patrons with fines o n th ei r overdue EPL materi als to "pa )"' the m off through th e
donatio n of no n-p eri shable food items that are, in turn, forwa rded to Inter faith Co mmunity Se rv ices
fo r th eir "fo o d ba nk " distri bu tion to finan ciall y disadvantaged fa milies in th e Englewood area.
Fo ll owin g 2003 's in crease in maxi mum Overdue Fin es from $2 to S5 , the Libra ry Boa.d requested
th at the number of food items req uired to pa y ofi a sing le O ve rdue charge also be increased
begin ni ng with th e 2004 Winter Food for Fine s program , e.g. it now tak es two food items to ca ncel
o ut th e late charges (no t los t or damage d charges ) on o ne overdu e item. Th ese food items must be
presented to the Library St aff at th e Circ ulati on Desk in order for th e fin es to be cleared fr o m th e
patron 's computer record. Thi s prog,am has been warmly receive d and supported by the public
since its inception, and Library pa tro ns now look fo rward to it as a way of h elping o th ers w hil e
reli eving th eir own finan c ial obliga ti ons . Thus, the program presen ts a positive bJge of th e Library •
and th e City and is a "w irH ,vin " situa ti on for eveiyone in vo lved.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
• Since its incepti o n, thi s program ha s raised an es timated $37,000 in d o nated no n-perishabl e
food items to assi st needy families in th e Englewood area.
• Th e money th at th e Library coll ec ts eac h m o nth in "late charges" (i.e. charges o n books and
o th er EP L items returned p as t th eir original "du e date" and pas t the 3 day "grace period ") goes
to th e City 's General Fund . These revenues tradi ti onall y drop abou t 50% during each of th e
Library 's two-week Food for Fin es p rograms , but th e loss is m ore than offset by the "good will "
this program generates among Li b ra ry patrons and by gettin g th e Library material s back o n the
shelves so that others ca n use th em.
UST OF ATTACHMENTS
Pr oposed Resolution
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