WORCESTER—The feline and literary worlds collide in March when the Worcester Public Library forgives any fees incurred just by producing a photo of a cat. That’s it. That’s the whole catch. The photo can be a picture of your cat, a picture you drew of a cat, a shelter cat, your neighbor’s cat…any cat.
The forgiven fees include everything, from late fees to lost or damaged WPL items.
“We understand accidents can happen, and sometimes fees might hold you back from fully using your public library,” said the announcement.
Here are the rules:
· Items must be owned by WPL (we cannot waive fees from other libraries)
· Items waived must be on lost or damaged items that are at least two months old
· Items cannot be part of the Library of Things
· Accounts with 5 or more items will need to be reviewed; patrons will receive a response as soon as possible
· You are not eligible for forgiveness if your lost or damaged items can be viewed as an attempt to restrict access to diverse content
· Account holders must be present
Items are not guaranteed to be waived. Forgiveness will be given at the discretion of library staff.
The library will accept honorary cats as well, so patrons can also show a picture or drawing of any animal – a dog, raccoon, orca, even a capybara – and receive forgiveness.
“We found that many of our patrons may have items that were misplaced during the pandemic as schools shuttered and we entered quarantine,” said WPL Executive Director Jason Homer. “We wanted to get everyone back in the library, and using our resources, and also wanted to create a really low barrier to get these fees forgiven. Celebrating March Meowness brings a fun component to fee forgiveness that resonates with both patrons and staff alike.”
WPL also invites the public to celebrate March Meowness, as it presents cat-themed events and programs all month long, kicking off with a main event on Saturday, March 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other events include a cat scavenger hunt, a demo on how to do the perfect cat-eye, DIY cat castles and cat toys, painting a leopard (not an actual leopard), a de-stress session with cats from Worcester Animal Rescue League, and an auto-described screening of Cats.
Get all the details right here.
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