Last year, Representative Reuven Carlyle wrote that "enforcing collection of fines against kids under 13 for ovedue library books is perhaps the ultimate elbow against families." Mayor Mike McGinn, who hates families, did it anyway... but it didn't work, apparently. Seattlepi.com has the story:

In November, when library officials started chasing overdue kid accounts, they estimated a revenue bump of $371,000 for 2011. But the library made only $28,500 in the first three months this year. And last month, it downsized the year's forecast significantly to only $65,000.

After launching its juvenile crackdown, officials soon discovered that older debts had diminishing returns. It costs the city $10 to submit accounts more than a year old. But the chance of collecting on them is lower, because people move and become harder to track.

In related news, the security guard on the top floor of the downtown library right now is gorgeous.