Lately, libraries have been passing around a new trend: instead of paying money for damaged books, you can pay in pet photos.

Libraries Forgiving Lateness

Borrowing books from your local public library has always been free. The only times you have to pony up cash is if you return a book late, damage it, or lose it – but that can build up to a pretty penny over time.

For the past few years, many libraries have offered ways to get those fees forgiven, like with special forgiveness weeks or fee amnesty programs. Some have decided to get rid of late fees entirely, though they still impose fees for damaged or missing books. After all, not all libraries can easily afford to replace books; simply omitting those fees is much easier said than done.

However, there are some cases where it can make more sense to offer a little extra leniency, especially if the library isn’t too hard-up on cash. One library in particular – Worcester Public Library in Massachusettes – came up with a special deal to sweeten the pot: one cat photo or drawing to forgive fines during their March Meowness month.

Paying Fees with Pet Photos

The idea was inspired by patrons who returned damaged books, saying their pet had gotten to it. In an effort to encourage people to bring the books back even if they were damaged, the library told the public to submit cat photos or drawings and they would forgive fees for missing or damaged books. However, the damage didn’t have to be caused by a cat, nor did you have to have a cat as a pet to get your fees forgiven – even a lol cat off the internet would do the trick.

March Meowness was a huge success, with thousands of people submitting cat photos and drawings and hundreds of people returning books they’d been holding onto. Granted, a good chunk of those were surely damaged – but either way, it encouraged people to stop by.

The event was so popular that it inspired Middleton Public Library, located in Wisconsin, to start a new policy – not just a one-month event. They ask patrons for photos of a pet, plus a picture of the damaged library book, which they then post to their social media.

The first few posts of these mauled books and the captured culprits went viral. And no wonder – what better way to attract attention than with adorable animal photos? Pretty sure YouTube’s popularity started with cat videos.

The Psychology Behind the Trend

From a psychological standpoint, it makes a lot of sense why so many people would come forward with their damaged books. No one means for the library books they borrow to get damaged, but accidents happen. And when they do, it can be hard to fess up whether you’re at fault or not simply because many people don’t like confrontation. They may even be worried about getting a scolding from the library staff!

However, programs like these that offer fee forgiveness in such a gentle and playful way make it much easier to confess one’s sins, as it were, and also offer a bit of reassurance that any awkwardness created by the situation can be easily dispelled with cute animal pictures.

That’s pretty much what the staff at these libraries are saying, as well. They don’t want people to avoid going to the library because they’re embarrassed about something that might not be their fault. Thankfully, the stereotype of a pinch-faced librarian angrily shushing children is fading from public memory, and events like these offer even more encouragement to stop by and support their local library.

Raising Awareness and Engagement

Middleton Public Library continues to capitalize on this trend by keeping its social media active. They recently had a months-long “Dog Days of Summer” where they posted pictures of the library staff’s pets. Like the pet-shaming posts, these drew a decent amount of engagement – though granted, not quite as much.

Viral trends like these are also a great way to advertise library-sponsored programs that can help strengthen local communities. Take, for instance, a recent event that Middleton Public Library hosted called Cars Curing Kids, a local fundraiser dedicated to improving children’s health care. The attention they draw from the pet pics also brings attention to important charities and other community-building programs.

These kinds of trends also help bring awareness to issues such as economic hardship and how it can affect people in little ways we don’t often think about. After all, one of the main reasons to avoid returning a damaged book, aside from embarrassment, is because you can’t afford to replace it. Drawing attention to this issue in such a playful way makes it easier to talk about and recognize the difficulty fellow residents might be facing.

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