My other experience of fines, is of course in the court environment, where
fines area punishment.
Is this really the ethos we want for public libraries?
we have to trust people, and I bet on the whole most books come back (I take
the point made by several that if the book is required by another borrower
it should come back on time), and nay one who wants to steal a book will
find a way.
I still wonder (again several people have mentioned), what are the real
costs and benefits?
more fiddling with the minutia while the world is passing us by?
Is this what the MLA want to see for public libraries in their Vision and
Action Plan? Maybe Andrew Motion could compose a suitable poem about this
state of affairs.
f
Frances Hendrix
Martin House Farm, Hilltop Lane, Whittle le Woods, Chorley, Lancs PR6 7QR,
UK
tel: 01257 274 833. fax: 01257 266 488
email: [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 1:49 PM
Subject: Fines etc
> Interesting discussion, as most correspondents seem to take the view that
> fines are a Bad Thing. The two strands seem to be that fines per se are a
> deterrent and should be eliminated, but as Mike Maguire noted, fines are
> firmly embedded in the budgetary process and I bet 'quality of service'
> figures in very few budgetary discussions. There is, perhaps, a third
> strand that should be considered. Libraries can be regarded as a form of
> commons, and the commons only work properly within a framwork of accepted
> behaviour. The accepted behaviour surrounding the loan of library material
> is - ah -nebulous. Fines are one form of creating a framework of accepted
> behavior - we are the guardians of these commons! Or, to put it another
> way, in an age when social mores seem to get ever laxer, it could be
> argued
> that there is growing need to enforce and re-inforce the notion of social
> responsibility. One way of doing that is to have rules, make them known,
> and enforce them. On this basis, I think there is a case for fines - not
> necessarily the strongest one, but a case.
>
> ---------------------------------------
> Fred Miller
> Senior Librarian (ICT)
> North Tyneside Libraries
> Central Library
> Northumberland Square
> North Shields
> NE30 1QU
>
> Tel : 0191-200 5425 or 0191-200 6294
> Fax : 0191-200 6088
> E-mail : [log in to unmask]
>
> Unless otherwise stated, opinions, conclusions and other information
> expressed in this message are personal, and not those of North Tyneside
> Council.
>
>
>
> Unless otherwise stated, opinions, conclusions and other information
> expressed in this message are personal, and not those of North Tyneside
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