HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 Resolution No. 047•
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RESOLUTION NO . t/1
SERIES OF 2007 --
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ENGLEWOOD PUSLIC LIBRARY TO
IMPLEMENT THE "SUMMER FOOD FOR FINES" PROGl'.AM FROM TUESDAY,
MAY 29th THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2007 .
WHEREAS, 1hc Englewood Public Library has sponsored a "Food for Fines" program since
1990; and
WHEREAS, 1hc "Food for Fines" program allows patrons with overdue fines on their overdue
library materials lo "pay" them off through the donation of non-perishable food ilcrns : and
WHEREAS , the food items arc then forwarded 10 lhc ln1crFai1h Community Services for their
"food bank" distribution 10 financially disadvantaged families in the Englewood area ; and
WHEREAS , the program is a benefit 10 1hc communi ty in 1ha1 1hc disadvantaged arc assisted ;
the air cleared with respect 10 fines; the Cily receives ils library materials back and lhc program
presents a positive image oflhc Library and the City.
NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, THAT:
~-The Englewood City Council hereby authorizes the Englewood Public Library 's
implementation of1he ··summer Food For Fines" program from Tuesday, May 29th, through
Sunday , June 10, 2007. The collected food will then be forwarded 10 the lnlcrFailh Community
Services for distribution 10 financially disadvantaged families in lhe Englewood area.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 21st of May , 2007 .
I, Loucrishia A. Ellis, Cily Clerk for )~ily of Engl
above is a true copy of Resolution No . I.j_, Series of 2
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COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
Date: A1ffld11tem: Subject:
May 21, 2007 9 c I Englewood Public Library's 2007
"Summer Food for Fines" Program
lnltl.1ted By: I Staff Source:
Library Department Hank Long. Director of Li~rary Services
COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
The Library has sponsored this popular program since 1990, and eac :1 year the City Council has
voiced its suoport. In 2003 the annual Food for Fines program was expanded to twice a year at the
request of the Library Board and subsequently approved by City Council for two weeks during the
summer as well as two weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas as a way to mitigate the
increase in overdue Library fines an d as a way to encourage the timely return of EPL materials so
that they can be used 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 which
students and teachers are cleaning out their desks and lockers in preparation for the summer break
and numerous overdue Library materials are located , whereas the two weeks of the Winter Food
for Fines program traditionall y covers the period in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holid •.ys . Historically, each of these 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 recommends City Council approve a Resolution authorizing the Library
Department to implement its 2007 Summer Food for Fines program from Tue5day, May 29 through
Suncby, June 10, 2007.
BACkGROUND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED
For the past 17 years, the Englewood Public Library has provided its "Food for Fines " program as a
way for those patrons with fines on their overdue EPL materials to "pay " them off through the
donation of non-perishable food items that are, in turn, forwarded to Interfaith Community
Services for their "food bank" distribution to flnanclally disadvantaged families in the Englewood
area . Following 2003 's increase in maximum overdue flnes from $2 to $5, the Library Board
requested that the nuinber of food Items required to pay off a single overdue charge also be
increased beginning with the 2004 Winter Food for Fines program, e.g. It now takes two food items
to cancel out the late charg•.!S (not lost or damaged charges) on one oyerdye item. These food
Items must be presented tc, the Library Staff at the Circulation Desk In order for the fines to be
cleared from the patron's computer record. This program has been warmly received and supported
by the public since Its Inception, and Library patrons now look forward to it as a way of helping
others while rellevlns their own financial obllsatlons. Thus, the prosram presenll a positive lmase •
of the library and the City and Is a •w1rr·A1n• situation for everyone Involved.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
• Since Its Inception, th is program has raised almost $30,000 In don ,lled no s,p r•:l shable food
Items to assist needy families In the Enslewood area .
• The money that the Library collects each month In •late chars,!s " (I.e. charses on books and
other EPL Items returned past the i1 original •due date " and past the 3 day "grace period ") soes
to the City's General Fund. These revenues traditionally drop about 50% dunns each of the
Library's two-week Food for Fines prosra ,..,s, but the loss Is more than offset by the ·sood will "
this program generates among Library patrons and by getting the Library materials back on the
shelves so that others can use them .
UST OF ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
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