yes - Calgary used to fine you $2 if you did not pick up a hold within 7 days, now it just expires. I wonder if it was the same specific motivation or the PITA of collecting fines in general.
I worked for the Calgary Public Library when we eliminated it. Partly the PITA for the patron but more importantly was we wanted people to borrow more and not be limited. If you were going to Peru and we had 7 books that looked interesting to you, you could order them in and decide at pickup if you wanted them all. If 6 them were crappy oh well - that was difficult when we charged $2 a hold, you wouldn’t risk ordering 7 books to your library. The point of the library is to facilitate your access to the bed information in the form that is best for you. The borrowing limit remains 99 items per person.
Nice. The SF public library also eliminated overdue fines recently [1] - I found that it made going to the library a little less stressful, knowing that if I missed the return deadline by a day or two I wouldn't be fined.
