Effective September 1, 2011, the library's overdue system will be changing.
Changes to overdue fees
Books - $0.25/day
Magazines - $0.25/day
CDs - $0.25/day
Maximum overdue fee per item - $10.00
Patrons will now be billed and suspended once any of their borrowed items becomes six weeks overdue.
So what's the reason behind all of these changes?
Let me explain what it's *not*, first:
It's not that we hate our patrons. We like them a lot! Without patrons, we wouldn't get to work at the library!
It's also not a way for us to bring a lot of money into the library. In the past year (July 2010 - June 2011) the library has collected around $100 per month on average from all overdue fees and replacement fees for lost books. This represents a very small portion of the library's budget, and if our patrons all return their borrowed items on time, we won't even be collecting that much in the future.
So why are we increasing our overdue fees?
The main reason for increasing our overdue fees is simply to have patrons return their borrowed items on time. The majority of the library's patrons always return things on time, and the changes to our overdue fees will not affect them at all. However, we do have a small number of perpetually overdue patrons. These patrons, while very nice in many other ways, seldom return their items on time, and perhaps increased overdue fees will provide some encouragement for them to do so.
There are a few other reasons though.
The library makes it reasonably easy for you not to have overdue items.
- If we have your current e-mail address in our system, you will automatically receive a courtesy e-mail three days before your items are due.
- We're centrally located, only a minute walk from the main parking lot in the shopping district.
- When you borrow items, you're given a date due slip.
- You may renew items in person, online, or by phone.
Finally, the library hasn't increased its overdue fees in years. The cost of books and other library materials has been rising steadily for years, and our overdue fees do not reflect this.
We're not naive, folks. We know some of our patrons will be unhappy with the changes to our overdue system. But if it encourages all of our patrons to keep track of their library items and return them on time, it'll make things better for all of us.
