Library lets students pay dues with generosity

Students who find themselves owing library fines at the end of the semester have the option to pay their dues in a different way – a donation of food items that go to the Vermillion Food Pantry.

Librarian Julie Junker said the library’s “Food for Fines Program” was launched in 2007 as a way to give students a more flexible way to pay their fines at the end of the semester “so they weren’t having to spend their actual cash.”

“(It’s) good for the students and the community,” she said.

The types of food accepted by the program include canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and macaroni and cheese. Perishable foods and ramen noodles are not acceptable, according to a flyer for the program.

Each item donated is worth $1 worth of fines, Junker said. She added that the library doesn’t lose much from the fines participants become exempt from.

The idea was originally proposed by a librarian during an I.D. Weeks staff meeting, who had read about a similar program in a librarians’ newsletter, Junker said.

Food for Fines sees roughly eight to ten students participating each year, but the library is hoping to see an increase in that number in coming years, Junker said.

The total quantity of food donated to the program each year is roughly enough to fill five or six of Xerox copy paper boxes, Junker said.

Those who donate food have until Dec. 18 to do so and also receive thank you notes from the library, Junker said.

Dean of Libraries Dan Daily said that Food for Fines usually sees “pretty good participation.”

“(It’s) a way to appreciate that the students have a lot going on at the end of the semester and paying fines should not be one of them,” he said.