Libraries to Waive Fines for Fire Victims

Saying your dog ate the book won’t cut it with savvy librarians, but telling them a fire reduced it to cinders just might.

The Los Angeles County Public Library will forgive patrons who lost borrowed books in the recent brush fires that swept through the Santa Monica Mountains, said Margaret Wong, chief of public service for the county library system.

“We have a standing policy that if the customer can demonstrate that there is a good reason that the material was lost, we do forgive the fines,” Wong said. “It’s a standing policy we have had for years. It’s also a little way to show we can help.”

Patrons won’t have to bring in charred bindings or page fragments, Wong said.

“In most instances we trust the individual,” she said. “In the Malibu area, the disaster zone is close to the library, so we recognize the addresses. If someone living in Westlake Village comes in claiming they lost their material, it’s just not likely,” she said.

Patrons who still feel guilty over their burned books, or are feeling philanthropic, can donate from their insurance checks at a future date, Wong added.

Whatever they decide, patrons are requested to do it quietly.