Emeka Achube pored over art books at the Denver Central Library on a recent Thursday, his face lighting up as he studied the works of painter Nicolai Fechin.

Achube, a homeless man living in Denver, can’t pay for the art instruction he dreams of, so he found inspiration and education among the downtown library’s abounding bookshelves instead.

“People like me can’t afford to go to the people who are experts — the art classes,” Achube said while seated in a library nook on a rainy day. “But here, I’m rich, too.”

For a while, Achube was barred from borrowing from the Denver Public Library because of a $100 late fee he incurred when life got in the way of returning his books.

“I simply would not come into the library because of my fines,” Achube said. “It broke my heart. I felt like I was a fugitive criminal running from justice. It was a double whammy because I felt ashamed that I couldn’t pay my fines, and I was sad because I really wanted those books.”

Achube can confidently return to Denver’s public libraries since the library did away with overdue fines for books and other items at the start of the year to help draw in low-income patrons who might rely on the library’s services most.

The culture change has been a success, said Jennifer Hoffman, who manages the Denver library’s Books and Borrowing department.

“We’re here to help people discover and indulge their curiosities,” Hoffman said. “Fines were a penalty, and they were our approach to be good stewards and get materials back, but what we found was they did not result in getting materials back. They penalized the person after they did the right thing and returned their items.”

Patrons like Achube flocking back after the January policy change was exactly what library employees hoped would happen when they dropped late fees. Thirty-five percent of patrons with overdue fines who had stopped using Denver Public Library services have re-engaged with the library since the fee cancellation, Hoffman said.

“The tone of conversation with customers has just become a lot more positive,” Hoffman said. “Previously, you always let a customer know if they had an overdue fine, which was a courtesy… but created the sense of obligation or shame. Conversations now are about what’s happening at the library or how much they enjoyed the book. It’s about curiosity and engagement rather than owing the library something.”

It’s not just the library customers who are returning. Books and other wares are coming back, too.

Denver librarians have seen a 10% increase in lost materials being returned from 2018 to 2019, Hoffman said.

The change has not resulted in a free-for-all. Now, on the 14th day an item is overdue, patrons are blocked from checking out more items. Once the item is brought back, customers can continue loading up on books, movies, music, e-books and more.

Library-goers can still be charged for lost or damaged items.

The fine elimination is not unique to Denver as libraries across the country experiment with the late-fee-free lifestyle. Los Angeles this month announced its libraries would follow suit. And the American Library Association passed a January resolution stating that library fines created “a barrier to the provision of library and information services” and urged libraries to move toward eliminating the fees.

“Sometimes, we hear from people that are concerned that we’re not going to hold people responsible or teach them responsibility,” Hoffman said. “That’s not necessarily our role. Families are responsible for teaching responsibility. We have policies and procedures we communicate to people, but we’re here to provide tools and information. We don’t want to have policies that stand in the way of that.”