Hmm, that's a bit overdue...

[altivo]

According to the Apr/May/Jun issue of OCLC Newsletter, a library user in Orchard Park, NJ recently returned a book that was 24 years overdue.

This is not too unusual, it happens now and then. The unusual thing was, this user actually paid his fine: $2190.

Most libraries limit fines when they reach the replacement value of the book. The only information provided here is that it was "a book on camping" and I doubt that even a first edition of Nessmuk's Woodcraft would reach that value. Must have been an amiable agreement that allowed him to deduct it as a donation, eh?

Comments

[umakami.livejournal.com]

Christ-o-mighty O.O; I have to ask... why would one need a book on camping... for 24 years? Were they stuck out in the wilderness for 24 years and survived using this book?

I know one loses things and totally forget about it until they find it later, but wow...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Folks do misplace things. :)

Cleaning out an elderly relative's house when she moved to a nursing home, my mate found a library book that was overdue since 1937. Unfortunately, it could no longer be returned, because the school library to which it belonged had not only been closed, but the entire school was gone and the building torn down.

It's always interesting how many people will say "I never had that" or "I'm sure I returned that" and still come back with the disputed item a week or two later when told they will have to pay for it.

[umakami.livejournal.com]

Aye, tis true. My younger brother actually has a library book that's 6 years over due he checked out for a book report in middle school. He was moving out to go to college dorms and we found it. Course it really doesn't matter anymore, seeing as the city had to close out library due to lack of funds and interest (people just weren't going to it anymore)

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

They were probably using it to prop up their tent :P

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No, to hold up the short leg on the sofa where the little metal glider got lost. It was the back leg, against the wall, and they just... sorta... forgot...

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

If your library got a few books returned like that, it could afford to pay for the new staffer you need, maybe even with benefits.

What I want to know is, was the guy who returned it longhaired, shaggy, and looked like he'd been in the woods for 24 years?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No idea. The only picture is a hand writing a check.

We'll never pay for a new staff position with fines. The fines account does cover loss and breakage stuff, mostly.

The Free, The Fined, And the Collected

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

There deciding what libraries to close up here so...even
though I'm not exactly flush with cash I'd spot the library
some for such a profoundly overdue missive.

And yes I yell at the politicians at the meetings and
have the bumpersticker "I Love My Library and I Vote!".

Lot of good it will do.

I mean...okay...

What A Library Is, by Pioneer11, 2005.

- A free education.
- A way to check your property taxes.
- All the DVD's you didn't buy.
- Music you didn't think was worthwhile until
you turned twenty eight.
- That novel about Oryx that you saw but
forgot about.
- A place to find quiet contemplation that you
can't get in your dysfunctional home (okay thats
personal).
- A play in the community room, a class on the internet
with a local geek that clues you in to the pitfalls,
a set of computers you could never afford along with the
internet connection to make them good, a place for
kids to go, even when they annoy the quiet patrons,
instead of breaking things, a home for the wisdom we've
accumulated as a species. Sometimes its nice and you
like it, sometimes you grrrr at truths you don't like,
but a commitment to preserving that for kids and
forever.

Okay so my personal savior was always the Library.

Therefore, paying 2190.00 dollars would seem a small price for
all the good stuff I've recieved.

*goes and pays the fines on his DVD that he kept too long
out of guilt and hypocrisy*

XD

Re: The Free, The Fined, And the Collected

[altivo.livejournal.com]

A DVD, not War and Peace? Tsk.

Obviously, I agree with most of what you say (though we do frown on having to control people's hyperactive offspring for them.) What is truly astonishing is the growing number of people who don't seem to agree.

As a city library in Illinois, we are funded primarily by taxes and our long term endowment, a thing we are very fortunate to have. The taxes are levied only on city property owners. We receive virtually no funding from the state, county, or federal governments other than an occasional small grant. The average homeowner in Harvard pays $140 in library tax per year. This is something like 6% of their total tax bill, most of which goes for schools, police, and fire department. We occasionally hear the resentment of taxpayers over being "forced to pay for something they don't use."

More often though, the tantrums are raised by those who live outside the taxing district. They pay no library tax. We welcome them to use our materials and facilities free of charge, but if they want to borrow books or videos then they have to buy a card by paying the same average annual rate, $140 per household. The usual response: "It's not worth that much." -- "I already pay taxes, you can't rip me off for this." -- "Libraries are supposed to be free, why should I have to pay?" -- "Libraries are for children, you are robbing my children." And so forth, and so on...

We do of course have a number of families who live outside of town who are happy to pay the annual fee in order to get full library service. Because a single payment gets a card for everyone in the household, many get quite a bargain out of it. Some have also realized that since they live on farms, and pay taxes that are much higher than what the average city dweller pays on his quarter acre, they are really getting a good deal.

And there are a few, just a few, who actually thank us when they write their annual check, and say something like "It's worth every penny." Not too many of those, alas.

Re: The Free, The Fined, And the Collected

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

"We do of course have a number of families who live
outside of town who are happy to pay the annual fee
in order to get full library service. Because a single
payment gets a card for everyone in the household,
many get quite a bargain out of it."

I mean...why is that so hard? You pay the little
fee and you get ten times...more! Then if you had
to go peruse Borders or B&N and throw in Blockbuster.

*boggles*

Re: The Free, The Fined, And the Collected

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yep, it boggles me too. I realize $140 in a lump can be a stretch for some people, but we do take it in six month payments if they wish. Go to Border's and you can drop $100 on two best sellers and a couple of DVDs. Spend that for a library card and you can have a dozen new books to read every month and all the DVDs you could possibly stand to watch for an entire year. But... somehow it just doesn't compute for some folks.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

Sounds like my lending habits. This actually reminds me to go and finally pay up all those late fees from last year... *cough*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*puts his hair up in a bun and fastens it with a pencil*

Young man you go right to the library and pay up what you owe. It's your responsibility.

LOL.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

I can only guess that the borrower figured it was a good way to settle up their conscience and donate something to the library as well.

When I used to be a library page...uh...we were probably some of the worst offenders, since the library didn't impose fines on employees and I couple of books that passed the 1 year mark...but, they did get returned.

For regular patrons, I think they suspended your card at some point, or if the item was missing more than a year, they billed you for the cost of a replacement book.

Interestingly enough, the local library had an old book on wolves that I wanted for my collection, so I worked out a deal with the librarian whereby they gave me the old book, and I bought them some new and recent books on wolves. :)

Actually (and this is highly confidential), most libraries have agreements with the Internation Alliance of Library Ninjas who, upon receiving a notice for a particulary overdue book, swoop into your home at night and steal away into the night with the overdue item.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Actually (and this is highly confidential), most libraries have agreements with the Internation Alliance of Library Ninjas who, upon receiving a notice for a particulary overdue book, swoop into your home at night and steal away into the night with the overdue item.

Not quite. Ninjas have been out of fashion ever since Waco.
Here's the current vogue.

I have declined to be drafted, however.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

LOL!

Well, the ninja thing was so 80's. :0D