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Home My WebLink About2008 Resolution No. 080• • RESOLUTION NO. F/J SERIES OF 2008 -- A RESOL UT ION AUT HORIZING THE ENGLEWOO D PUBLI C LIBRARY TO IMPLEM ENT THE ANNUAL "WINTER FOOD FOR FINES " PROGRAM FROM Mun DAY. DE CE MBER I, 2008 THROUGH SUNDAY, DECEMBE R 14 , 2008 . WHEREAS, the Englewood Publi c Library has spo nso red a "Food fo r Fines" program si nc e 1990; and WHEREAS, the "Food fo r Fines" program allows patrons with ov!rdu~ fin es to 11 pay" them off through the donation of non-pe ri shable food items ; and WHEREAS , the food items are then forwarded to the lnterFaith Communi ty Servi ces for their "food bank" distribution to financially di sadvant aged familie s in the Englewood area ; and WHEREAS, the program is a benefit to the community in that the di sa dva ntaged are assisted ; the air cleared with respect to fine s; and the City receives its library materi als back and the program presents a po si ti ve im.1ge of the Library and the Cit y. NOW . THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNC IL OF THE CITY OF ENG LEWOOD , COLORADO, THAT : Section I . The Englewood City Council hereby authorizes the Englewood Public Library 's implementation of the annual "Winter Food For Fines " program from December I, 2008 thrm•l!h December 14, 2008 . The collected food will then te forwarded to the lnterFaith Community Servi ces for distribution to financially disadvantaged families in the Englewood area . ADOPTED AND APPROVED tlti s 17th day of Nove mber , 2008 . ~ I, Loucrishia A. Elli s, Cit y Clerk fo rJhe Ci ty of Englewood, Co lora do, hereb y ce rtify the above is a true copy of Reso luti on No . W __ , Serie s of 200 . • • • COUNCIL COMMUNICATION Da !e: I Agenda Item : ~;,,ve mb er 1 7, 2008 9 c i I Subject Englewoo d Public Library 's "Winter Food for Fin es " Initiated By: Library Department I Staff Soo:rce: Hank long, Director of Library Servic es COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION The Library has spons ored this popular program since 1990, and eac h year the City Co uncil has vo iced its support. In 2003, the annual Food for Fines program was expanded to twice a year at the request of the Library Board . This . 1as subsequently approved by City Council for two weeks during the summer as well as two weeks between Thanksgi vi ng and Christmas as a way to mitigate the increase in ove rdue Library Fines and as a way to encourage th e timely return of EPL materials so that they can be us ed by more people . The two weeks of the Summer Food for Fines program covers the last week of the public school year and the first week of vacations, a time during w hi ch students and teac hers are cleaning out their desks an d lockers in preparation for th e summer break and numerous ov erdue Library materials are located , whereas the two weeks of the Winter Food for Fines program traC:itionally cove rs the period in between the Thanksgiving an d Christmas holidays. Historically, e.ch of th ese two biannual events averages $1 ,000 to $1 ,500 in donated food items for the Interfaith Community Services food bank, RECOMMENDED ACTION The Library Department re co mmends City Coun ci l approve a res olution authorizing the Library Department to imp lement its 2008 Winter Fo od for Fines program from Monday, December 1 through Sunday, December 14 . BACKGROUND, ANAi YSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED For the past 18 years, the Englewo od Public Library ha; pro vide d its "Food fo r Fin es " program as a way for thos e patrons wi th fines on th eir over due EPL materials to "pay• them off through the donati on of non-p erishabl e foo d it ems that are, in turn , forwarded to Interfaith Community Serv ice s fo r their "food bank " distributi on to financia ll y disadvantaged fa mili es in th e Englewo od area. Foll ow ing 2003 's Inc rease in maximum Overdu e Fin es fr om $2 to $5, the Library Board request ed th at th e number of food items required to pa y off a sing le Overdue charg e also be in cre ased beginning with the 2004 Winter Foo d for Fin es program, e.g. it now tak es two food items to ca ncel out the late charges (not lost or damag ed charges) on one overdue item. These food items mu st be presented to the Library Staff at the Circulation Desk in order fo r the fi ne s to be cl ea red from the patron 's computer record. Thi s program has been wa rml y rece ive d and supported by the public since its inception, and Library patrons now look forwa rd to it as a way of help ing oth ers while re lieving their own fin ancial obligati ons . Thus, the program presents a posi ti ve imag e of the Library an d th e City and is a "w in-win " situa tion fo r everyone in vo lve d. FINANCIAL IMPACT • Since its inceptio n, th is program has raised alm ost $35,000 in donated non-perishable food items to assist needy fa milies in th~ Engl ewoo d area. • The mone y that the Lib ra ry collects each month in "late charges " (i.e . charges on bo ok s an d other EPL items returned past their or iginal "du e date " and pa st the 3 day "gra ce peri od") goes to the City's General Fund . These reve nu es traditi onall y drop about 50% during each of the Libra ry's two-we ek Fo od fo r Fines programs, but the loss is more th an offset by the "good w ill " this progr am generates among Library patrons and by getting th e Library materials bac k on the shelves so that others can use th em. LI ST O f 4TTACHMENTS Resoluti on • • •