Public libraries across Kootenai and Shoshone counties will mirror a national trend and end late fines on June 3.

This week, the Coeur d’Alene and Lake City Library Board of Trustees and the Community Library Network, made up of libraries in Athol, Harrison, Hayden, Pinehurst, Post Falls, Rathdrum and Spirit Lake, voted to end overdue fines and review the policy in a year. The libraries ended fines for children last year, which they said then led to increased circulation.

Bette Ammon, director of the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, said late fees added up to $18,000 a year — a tiny fraction of its $1.6 million annual operation — though less than half of that is actually paid. Borrowers who rack up fines tend to not return to the library. Ammon hopes ending fines will help bring those patrons back.

“[Fines] are a socioeconomic barrier,” she said.

Jim Phillips, the instrumental music director at Coeur d’Alene High School, visits the Coeur d’Alene Public Library often with his children, checking out several books at a time. He thinks removing the fines will be positive for the library.

“Sometimes you lose a book and you don’t want to pay $8 when you find it a year later,” Phillips said.

The libraries will continue to track when items are checked out, and if a patron has overdue items they will not be allowed to use library computers or check out other material. If an item has been lost or damaged, the patron must pay for it.

Past late fees, though?

Gone with the wind.