Hundreds Turn Out For the First Day of LIbrary's Amnesty Week

In just eight hours on Tuesday, more than 300 Lakewood residents had their library fines completely wiped out.

And that’s just the first day of the ’s Amnesty Week. 

In exchange for a canned food item, patrons have the by bringing back checked-out (and late) library items.

With hundreds of pounds of canned goods donated, the event was a success, said library officials.

“People are being very generous,” said Judy Grzybowski, the director of the , who is spearheading Amnesty Week.

“They’re not just wiping their cards with one can — they’re bring bags of goods. And we’re getting some material back.”

The highest fine wiped clean at the on Tuesday — as of 4:30 p.m. — was for $37.

For those who don’t have outstanding materials, but still have fines, the library is still offering amnesty.

Patrons can bring in canned food items or non-perishable items that will be donated to the .

Coinciding with National Library Week, both the main Detroit Avenue branch and the Madison Avenue branch are participating in Amnesty Week, which will last through

Billed items, such as a lost book or CD, don’t count toward a clean slate.

“We have four more days to go, so this is really good,” Grzybowski said.