by CARA WAITS
As a librarian for many years, I have heard varied reasons why people should or should not pay a fine that has been assessed to their account. While we don’t particularly like fines, they are necessary reminders to return library materials on time and to help recoup losses incurred from lost materials and lost circulation. Occasionally, a book is not picked up by the scanner and is returned to the shelf without being checked in. This does not happen as often as one might think. If a patron calls on the phone to renew items, they are renewed immediately while on the phone. Remember, to record the new due date, the date you called and the name of the staff member assisting you in case questions arise later on. Renewing items by email and leaving phone messages, items are renewed as soon as the message is received which may be the next morning if you called after library closing hours. There are those times when a catastrophic event has taken place in someone’s life and that is taken into account when determining whether a fine/fee should be adjusted accordingly.
In many cities, fines and fees go into the general operating budget of the city, as they do in Kyle. The city, in turn, gives the library an annual operating budget which is used to cover the cost of purchasing materials, supplies, maintenance, and paying for staffing. City budgets have been challenged as costs for supplying services, supplies and labor increase. With recent state and federal budget cuts, particularly for public libraries nationwide, many libraries rely on grants, donations and businesses in the community to fill in funding for the many services that their communities have come to expect and demand. Fines and fees do become part of the library’s budget and help support services the public expects.
When applying for a library card, customers enter into a contract with the library to care for the item(s) while in their possession and return the materials at a specified time. In addition to providing revenue, fines provide an incentive for people to return library materials on time making them available for the next patron. Customers with current phone numbers and mailing addresses, e-mail, and/or cell phone numbers are sent notifications that their books are due a few days beforehand with several options for renewing; in person, by phone, online and by text messaging. The Kyle Public Library, like the majority of libraries, makes it easy to avoid fines.
