The Riverside City Council on Tuesday voted to rescind the fee
schedule on past-due items based on a report that the fees were having a
disproportionately significant impact on low-income residents."This decision eliminates the possibility that a Riverside child
could see his or her library privileges revoked over a fine of a few dollars,"
Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. "The ability for our residents to use the
library for a job search, or a homework assignment, is worth more than these
small fines."Library Director Erin Christmas authored the report to the council,
stating that low-income residents were the most impacted by penalties, which
had the added undesirable result of libraries permanently losing items because
residents facing overdue fees were less likely to bo
