Good news for readers: El Paso Public Library may end overdue fines
by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
April 29, 2025
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Library late fines could become a thing of the past if the El Paso City Council approves doing away with them Tuesday.
The City Council will vote whether to amend its ordinances related to overdue fines and materials at the library to eliminate late fees and forgive any outstanding fines, a city presentation shows.
The move could draw back the about 40,000 patrons currently blocked from checking out materials from the El Paso Public Library system and make services more accessible, documents show.
Other Texas library systems have also eliminated late fines, including Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Houston, according to the presentation the council will hear Tuesday.
Canales said he thinks the fines deter people from wanting to return late materials to the library when they have an outstanding balance.
“People have books and other library materials in their possession that they’re afraid to go return because they don’t want to have to pay the fine and, so, we’d rather have people using the library, people bringing back the materials that they check out, and not being afraid to go use the library,” Canales said.
The current fine is 15 cents per item per day with a $5 cap on each item. The change in the ordinance would apply to the late fees, but fees for lost or damaged materials would remain in place. The fee for damaged items is $3 or, if completely unusable, the value of the book. The fine for lost books is the value of the book.
There are an estimated 180,000 overdue library items checked out. Patrons can still be blocked for overdue items, but they would not get monetary fines if the City Council approves the change.
“I really do believe, when you have an outstanding library book that’s due, you tend to stay away,” said city Rep. Lily Limón.
Limón said if the item passes, the city should let the community know to bring back the overdue materials without having to fear paying fines.
“We will know pretty soon, I would imagine in six months, we should have a report that says, look, we’ve increased our library circulation by so many numbers – then it would be something that would be good, and it’s good for the community. It doesn’t cost them anything to come and use these services,” Limón said. “We definitely want them back in the libraries.”
City Rep. Deanna Maldonado-Rocha said she thinks the move to get rid of late fines is long overdue and, with the reopening of the Main Library in Downtown El Paso, she hopes it will renew interest in the library system.
The library system has 15 branches throughout the city and one bookmobile. The city’s Main Library at 501 N. Oregon St., reopened April 10 after undergoing renovations while the city built the Mexican American Cultural Center that opened March 22.
“We need to make it (the library system) more accessible to everybody. Reading is an important fundamental right to be able to expand your world and your creativity,” Maldonado-Rocha said.
The library has a variety of materials available to check out, with varying timeframes and quantity limits. A patron could check out up to 30 books at a time for three weeks.
People can also check out up to 15 magazines and photo novels for one week and at least five magazines, DVDs and music CDs can be checked out for one week at a time. Up to five audiobooks and kits can be checked out for three weeks at a time. Materials are automatically renewed up to five times, as long as no one else has requested them and there are no overdue items or a balance on the patron’s account.
Canales said the time it takes library administrative staff to track and try to collect fines is not worth the amount of money collected.
The library has collected about $25,000 in fines each year over the last five years, according to the presentation.
