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Ames Public Library Goes “Fine Free”

by Tracy Briseño    All across the country, (and in Iowa,) libraries big and small are going “fine free,” and now Ames Public Library has joined them! But what does that mean? It means the Library no longer charges late fees on overdue materials, as long as they’re returned. (You’ll still need to pay for any lost or damaged items.) Research shows that overdue fines are not as effective as once thought. In the past, the belief was that library fines encouraged people to return…

Why Travel?

by Seth Warburton Travel exists, for me, in about the same space as dancing. I figure some people must be telling the truth when they say they enjoy those activities, but I can’t really relate. What fun you achieve with either activity seems to me to come with too high a price in cash, time, discomfort or perhaps all three. I know that my Ames Public Library colleagues have even written several of these columns extolling the virtue of travel and pointing you to books and other library…

An Ode to Libraries

by Rosie Francis Growing up the very first public library that I used was the one in my neighborhood. The library was tiny, with just a few shelves of books, a couple of tables where magazines were displayed, and some tables with chairs for readers. When the idea to set up a library was first proposed, several families and individuals donated books to get it started. Adults in the community took turns to volunteer and serve as the “librarian”. This meant one week it could be a retired…