Ever had those pesky library fines put holds on your MyBelmont account or endanger your graduation chances?
During November, those fines were washed away by a few food donations.
The Lila D. Bunch library let students exchange non-perishable food items in exchange for the forgiveness of overdue fines from Nov. 3 to Nov. 21. The library’s marketing committee introduced Food for Fines this year, which forgave $2 for every food item brought in, said librarian April Sheahan.
Sheahan said the committee wanted to try the program as a new means of marketing the library to students as well as giving back to the Nashville community. The library notified students about the drive through its social media pages, MyBelmont and the library’s homepage.
“Students at the end of the semester may not realize they have fines, so we wanted to give them a way to take care of their fines and give back,” she said. “Library fines can get insane, so this gives you a little incentive.”
Sheahan said the library had a “modest collection” of food donations from students, but said that was normal for the program’s trial year. Some professors also brought food items just because they wanted to, she said.
Now that the Nov. 21 deadline is passed, the food will be donated to Second Harvest Nashville.