Question 165·Medium·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
After eliminating late fees last spring, the River City Public Library saw an 18% rise in materials returned within 30 days of the due date. The library director attributes the change to removing financial penalties, which she says "restored trust" and encouraged residents to bring back items without fear. She concludes that late fees had been the primary barrier to timely returns.
Text 2
Researchers from a consortium analyzed 50 library systems that ended late fees. They found modest average gains in on-time returns, with the largest increases occurring where fee removal coincided with extended loan periods, automatic email reminders, and auto-renewals. Systems that eliminated fines without other changes tended to see little or no change. The researchers concluded that while removing fees can help, it is usually most effective as part of a broader set of policies.
Based on the texts, what would the researchers in Text 2 most likely say about the library director’s conclusion in Text 1?
For cross-text connection questions, first restate in your own words the key claim or conclusion in the first text. Then read the second text asking, “If the authors of Text 2 read Text 1, would they strongly agree, partly agree, or disagree, and why?” Look for signal words about degree (like “modest,” “primary,” “most effective,” “little or no change”) and for what conditions or extra factors the second text mentions. Finally, eliminate answer choices that go to extremes (total endorsement, total rejection, or claims about things not discussed) and choose the one that best captures both the overlap and the difference between the two texts’ views.
Hints
Clarify Text 1’s main claim
Look at what the director says caused the 18% rise in timely returns. Is she simply noting a change, or is she naming one thing as the main cause?
Focus on key details in Text 2
In Text 2, where do the researchers say the largest increases in on-time returns occurred, and what else was happening in those systems besides removing late fees?
Compare the tones and strengths of the conclusions
Does Text 2 sound like it strongly supports, partly supports, or contradicts the idea that fee removal alone is the main reason for better return rates?
Eliminate extreme or unsupported options
Ask yourself: Do the researchers ever say late fees alone are a reliable fix, that they make things worse, or that the data can’t be measured? Cross out any choice that makes a claim not supported by Text 2.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the director’s conclusion in Text 1
Reread the final sentence of Text 1: the director “concludes that late fees had been the primary barrier to timely returns.” She is not just saying that removing late fees helped; she is saying late fees were the main thing stopping people from returning items on time and that eliminating them caused the 18% rise.
Understand the researchers’ findings in Text 2
In Text 2, the researchers study 50 library systems and find “modest average gains in on-time returns,” not huge jumps everywhere. The “largest increases” happen when late fees are removed together with other changes, like extended loan periods, email reminders, and auto-renewals. When “systems … eliminated fines without other changes,” there was “little or no change.” Their conclusion: “while removing fees can help, it is usually most effective as part of a broader set of policies.”
Infer how the researchers would respond to the director
Compare the two viewpoints:
- The director: late fees were the primary barrier, and removing them explains the big increase.
- The researchers: fee removal can help, but on its own usually leads to only modest or no change; big improvements typically involve multiple policy changes. From this, they would likely say: yes, removing fees can play a role, but the director is probably overstating its importance as the main cause of the improvement.
Match that combined view to the answer choices
Now choose the option that shows partial agreement (fee removal can help) but also emphasizes that other policies matter and that calling late fees the primary barrier goes too far. That description matches: “They’d agree fee removal can help but say other policies likely drove the increase, so calling fees the primary barrier is premature.”