HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 Resolution No. 037• RESOLUTIO NO. J '7
SER IES OF 2r~
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A RESOLUTI ON AUTH ORIZING THE ENGLEWOOD PUBLIC LIB RA RY TO
L\1PLEMENT THE ··SUMMER FOOD FOR FINES" PROGRAM FROM TUESDAY .
~IAY 17th THROUGH SUNDAY , JUNE 8. 2008.
WH EREAS , 1he Englewood Publi c Library has sponsored, "Food for Fin es" program since
1990; and
WHEREAS , 1he "F ood for Fines" program all ows pmons wilh overdu e fines on 1heir overd ue
lib rary materials 10 "pa y" 1hem off throu gh the donation of non-peri shable food ilems ; and
WHEREAS. 1he food ilems are lhen fo rw arded 10 1he In1 erFai 1h Communit y Services fo r their
'·food : ••nk"" di stribution 10 financially disadvantaged fa mili es in 1he Eng lewood area; and
WhcREAS , 1he program is a benefi t 10 th e community in 1ha1 the di sadva ntaged are assisted ;
1he ai r cleared wi lh res pec t 10 fin es; 1he Ci 1y rece ives i1 s lib rary materi als back ar.d 1he program
prese ,tts a positi ve image of the I ;ra ry and the City.
NOW , THEREFORE . BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNC IL 01-THE CITY OF
E GLEWOOD . COLORADO. THAT:
Sect ion I. The Eng lewood City Cou ncil hereby authorizes 1he Englewood Public Library·s
imp lemen1a1ion of1h e ··Summer Food For Fines" program from Tue sday , May 271h, through
Sunday, June 8, 2008. The co ll ected food will 1hen be fo rw arded to 1he lntorFailh Communi ty
Services for dis1ribu1ion to fin ancia ll y disadvantaged families in 1he Engl ewood area.
ADO PTED AND APPROVED 1his 51h day of May . 2008.
ATTE~T :
I. Loucris hia A. Elli s. Ci1y Clerk for 1he Ci1 y of Englewood , Colo
above is a lrue co py of Reso luti on No -21.__, Series of 2008 .
eby cc nify 1he
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COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
Date : Agenda Item : Subject:
May 5. 2008 9 C i Englewood Public Library's
"S ummer Food for Fin es " Program 1 -Initiated By: Staff Source :
Library D epartment Hank Lo ng, Director of library Services
COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIi. ACTION
The Library has sponsored thi s popular program since 1990, and each year th e City Council has
voiced its support. In 2003, the anneal Food for Fines program was expan ded to twice a year at
th e reques t of th e Library Boa rd, and subs eque ntly approved by City Council, fo r two weeks during
the summer as well as IWo weeks belW~en Tha nksgiving and Chris tm as as a way to mitigate the
increase in Overdue Library Fin es and as a w ay to encourage the tim ely ret urn of EPL materials so
th at they can be used by m o re people. Th e two weeks of th e Summer Food for Fines program
covers th e las t week of the public sch ool year and the first week of vacat ions , a time during which
students and tea chers are cleaning o ut the ir desks and lockers in preparation for th e summer break
an d numerous ove rdue Library materials are located, w hereas the two weeks of the Winter Food
for Fines program trad itionall y covers th e period in between the Th anksgivi ng an d Ch ris tm as
holidays. Historicall y, ea ch of these two biannual even ts averages $1 ,000 • $1,500 in do nated food
items for th e Interfaith Community Services food bank.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
The Library Departm ent recommends City Council ap prove a Resolution authorizing the Library
Department to implement its 2008 Summer Food fo r Fi nes program from Tuesday, May 27 thro ugh
Sunday, June 6, 2008.
BACKGROUND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED
Fo r th e past 18 years, th e En glewood Pu blic Library has provided its "Food iur Fin es" program as a
way for th ose pa trons w ith fines on their ove rdu e EPL materials to "pay" them off through t:,e
donation of non-perishable food items that are , in turn , fo rwarde~ to Interfaith Community
Services fo r their "food b ank " distri b utio n to financia lly disadva ntaged fam il ies in th e Englewood
area. Fo ll owing 2003's increase in maximum Overdue Fi nes fr om $2 to $5 , the Library Boa rd
requested tha t the number of food items required to pay off a single Overdue c harge also be
increased beginning with th e 2004 Winter Food for Fines program, e.g. it now takes two food items
to ca ncel ou t th e late charges (not lost o r damaged cha rges) on o ne overdue item. These fo od
iter,1s must be prese nted to th e Library Staff at the Circulation Desk in o rd er for th e fines to be
deared from th e patron's comp uter record . This program has been warml y received and suppo rt ed
by the public sin ce its in cepti on, and Library patrons now look forward to it as a way of helpin g
oth ers whil e reli ev in g th eir own fin ancia l ob liga ti ons. Thu s, th e pr og ram prese nt s a pos iti ve im age •
o f th e Li b ra ry and th e City and is a "w in-w in " situ ati o n for everyone in volved.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
• Sin ce its in ceptio n, this p ro gram ha s raise d almo st $34,000 in do n ate d no n-p eri shable foo d
items to ass ist nee dy famil ie s in th e En glewood are a.
• The m o ney that th e Library coll ects ea ch m o nth in "'late charges" (i.e. charges o n b o oks ard
oth er EPL items returned past their o ri gin al "'due date" and past th e 3 day "gra ce period") goes
to the City's Gen eral Fund. Th ese re venu e s traditio nall y drop about 50% during each of the
Library's two-week Fo o d for Fines programs, but the loss is more than o ffset by the "good will "
this program generates am ong Libra ry patrons and by getting th e Library m aterials back on th e
shel ves so that others can us e them .
LIST OF ATT/\Ci'•MENTS
Res olution
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