Did you hear about what various libraries all over the U.S. have been doing these past few years?
They're eliminating overdue fines and even clearing library patrons' accounts of prior fines.
And in response, materials are being returned in droves.
(From an article in The New York Times: "Since last fall, more than 21,000 overdue or lost items have been returned in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx, some so old that they were no longer in the library’s systems. About 51,000 items were returned in Brooklyn between Oct. 6 through the end of February. And more than 16,000 were returned in Queens.")
Some of these books were originally checked out in the 60s and 70s!
So, the very thing that the fines were in place to ensure is what happened once the fines were dropped.
MIND BLOWN.
I mean, this isn't entirely surprising.
It makes sense to incentivize the behavior you want. A library wants patrons to borrow books, and it also wants them returned so that others will have access to them. Okay.
But there's a tipping point, right?
Someone's motivated to return their books on time because they don't want to incur fines.
But if a due date is overlooked or a book is misplaced or whatever other scenario unfolds and a fine begins to accumulate, there's some point at which that fine will transform from incentive to barrier.
For various reasons (cost, shame, limited access to services because now there's a hold on the library card, etc.), it will become easier and/or make the most sense to keep the book and avoid the library.
So, the library doesn't get the book back and it loses the patron.
And the patron gets the book (one they probably didn't even want or intend to keep in the first place), but loses all the other services that come with library access.
No one wins.
Anyway, it's not really libraries I want to tell you about today (though I am the daughter of a retired library director/reference librarian, so, you know, #librarypride!).
What I really want to do here is to inspire some fresh thinking for you:
Where, in your life, might your system (whatever it is, whatever it's for) be precluding your desired outcome?
Is it possible that the thing you’re after is actually in the opposite direction of your efforts to get it?
What would happen if you changed tack entirely, scrapped your whole approach, and welcomed the returns in their own time and at their own pace?
Leave a comment below to continue the conversation.