Patrons with overdue books at the Nyssa Library can erase their fines while helping the hungry in November.
Throughout the month, those facing fines can pay them off by bringing non-perishable food items to the library. The food will then be donated to the Nyssa Food Bank, according to a flyer from the library.
Library Director Teri Anne Finnerty said a non-perishable item – such as a canned good or a bag of pasta or rice – would be valued at $1 and applied to fines for overdue books. She said the donations will only be put toward late fees from not returning a book by its due date, and can’t be applied to lost library items or other library fines.
Finnerty said she hopes it helps the food bank.
“I know that any little bit that people can donate helps,” she said.
Betty Holcomb, mayor of Nyssa and a volunteer at the Nyssa Community Food Pantry, said the pantry is seeing an influx of people in need of food but, at the same time, has seen a dip in donations.
Holcomb joked that she hoped kids would be late turning in their books so “they’ll bring food in.”
She said applying the donations to food donations is “great idea.”
Holcomb said she appreciates everything the community donates and notes that various organizations have “stepped up” to help. Still, she said, the requests for food have doubled.
Finnerty also said she hopes the food for fines drive can bring people into the library who otherwise might stay away because they have hefty fines they cannot pay.
Finnerty described the library as the “heart of the community.”
“Not only do we provide a lot of information,” she said, “but we can hook people up with whatever other resources that they need.”
She said some canned goods cost less than a dollar. She said the idea of helping someone else out, can help them pay down those fines.
“We should all be helping each other out,” she said.
For more information, visit the library or call 541-372-2978.
News tip? Send your information to Steven Mitchell at [email protected].
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