Students may have noticed an influx of emails from the library over the past few weeks building up in their inbox. These emails are the result of the school’s decision to not charge library fines for late books anymore to be consistent between the two high schools since Gretna High has not charged late fees since 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s more of making sure K through 12 all the way through, not just the other high school, but we are in alignment, and doing the same things across the district,” Principal Chad Jepsen said.
With the official decision to stop enforcing late book fines, there were concerns about the logistics of not having fines to keep students accountable for returning books on time.
At first, “not charging fines raised a few concerns for me,” librarian Jami Adelman said. “How do I ensure students return library materials in a timely manner? How can I support students if or when materials aren’t being returned on time? Without fines, how do I fund library programming and Makerspace activities?”
To combat this, Adelman, Gretna High librarian Kari Bulgrin and administrators from both high schools met and came up with a plan.
“This year, we decided to focus on fostering responsibility among students as library patrons rather than collecting fines,” Adelman said, “During library orientation, we emphasized the importance of returning materials on time. To support this, students with any library materials checked out or overdue will receive weekly email reminders. Additionally, we’re scheduling time with each English class to visit the library at least once per quarter. This provides students with regular opportunities to return books and helps keep our collection circulating smoothly.”
The emails that are sent out include a reminder of the borrowed items when they were due and the potential replacement cost. The emails will only be sent to students until it becomes necessary, typically at the end of the school year, to send them to parents and guardians, due to privacy concerns.
With no income coming in from late books, the library had to find new ways to supply activities for students.
“The funds [from last year] were used to support a variety of library programs, including our Makerspace activities,” Adelman said. “These activities encourage creativity and hands-on learning through projects like Magic Loom bracelets, Perler bead crafts, infinity cubes and button making. Additionally, the funds supported poster-making for school spirit, March Madness prizes, the weekly games organized by Mr. Farley and many other engaging activities that the library offers to enhance the student experience.”
To offset the lack of money coming through fines, Adelman applied for a grant through the Gretna Public Schools Foundation, which provides grants every year to support innovative educational ideas to support student learning across the district.
“This grant allowed us to add an Infinity gaming table to our library,” Adelman said. “The gaming table brings a unique, interactive element to our space, offering students a way to engage with each other through educational games and activities.”
Even though there are no more late fees, Adelman suggests that students continue to stop in during study hall or before and after school to renew their books.
“Renewing helps keep their account up-to-date and avoids the overdue reminders in their weekly email,” she said. “It’s also a good way for students to keep track of their books, as renewing requires knowing where it is. It also helps to keep our library records up to date as well.”