DCentric

Return or renew on time, less hassle.

When I first read this on TBD, I worried about people who don’t have credit cards, since they might really need to use the library:

Starting November 1, the D.C. Public Library will no longer accept cash as payment for fines at its branch locations. Customers will be asked to log on to the library’s website either from home or at branch locations in order process their payments via Visa or Mastercard.

The issue is one of cost. If public libraries accept cash for late fees, then armored cars have to pick up that cash– and that’s expensive when the amounts in question are small.

There are provisions for those with no plastic:

Customers without credit cards may also pay fines by check or money order at branch libraries, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library will continue to accept cash, regardless of which library branch the fees originated from.

Of course the easiest way to prevent the hassle of getting a money order or trekking out to what may be an out-of-the-way library is to return or renew books on time.