Small fines seem like a great way to instill a sense of responsibility (while also acting as insurance style payments), especially if your parents already aren't engaged and ensuring you're responsible to duties.

As this the Good Will Hunting quote suggests, in many libraries these fees were small, $1.25 in late fees for a Harvard Education...

Sure, they seem like that. But the study Chicago conducted showed that fines increased patron anxiety and were antithetical to the intended goals of library leadership in engaging their patrons.

So it actually may have actually been detrimental.