I think there have been some fascinating strands to this debate and that there are so many issues, all of which obviously evoke a passionate response from all members!
I think even so that there have been several points that have not been mentioned . Firstly, I think that it is important to remember how easy we make it for our customers in this technological age to renew their loans. In Cambridgeshire, a customer can renew on line, in person, by phone (using an automated renewal system) and by text; all of these coupled with a pre-overdue notice which we do send out to customers with an e-mail account, makes it quite easy to avoid fines.
Secondly, I think we ought to remember that a library is a community resource and that everybody has the right to be able to borrow our stock. If an individual customer keeps books for a long time, this is denying that resource to the rest of the community. I also think that the point that one contributor made about community responsibility is a valid one: when a customer takes out an item from library stock, he or she enters into a contract with the service to look after the item and return it in a timely fashion. This is surely something worth championing.
Thirdly, I think it behoves all of us as library staff to be flexible and adaptable with regards to the circumstances pertaining. If somebody has a really valid reason for not renewing items, such as illness or bereavement, then surely we should be sympathetic and use our judgement in waiving all fines incurred. If customers feel either threatened or judged when paying fines, then that is also the responsibility of those managing staff to instil a different approach and attitude in library staff.
Fourthly, while the price of books has dropped and fines have gone up, the cost of housing our libraries and maintaining the service has also risen dramatically. Also, with fines of 20p per day and a maximum of £5.00 per item, it does take quite a long time to build up a major fine.
Finally, also speaking as a customer, which I was for many years and while bringing up a young family) I always felt that if I had incurred fines and was asked to pay then it was a fair cop: I had borrowed the books and it was ultimately my responsibility to return them at the allotted time.
Sue Williamson,
Customer Services Manager,
Cambridgeshire Libraries.
In this National Year of Reading, I am currently reading:
The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore
-----Original Message-----
From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ciara Eastell
Sent: 10 August 2008 10:56
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Fines etc
I can speak from a customer perspective. For the last 3 years, whilst working
for The Reading Agency, I have had to pay fines as an ordinary punter at my
local library. On many occasions now I have had to pay fines because, like
most people, I have a life - loads of things to get done in the course of a
day. Remembering to get my books back on time is not always top of my
priorities.
On the last occasion, I had £15 to pay in fines. It made me feel punished,
quite embarrassed to approach library staff and actually quite angry that I
was 'wasting' £15. Of course, I've never really felt this before because I've
had many years as a librarian where I've been able to waive my own fines
(quite legitimitely, I should add).
Faced with such an experience, it's no wonder that an increasing number of
people vote with their feet and choose to buy their books. The experience is
even worse for families - one of my neighbours has 3 children; on their second
time of borrowing from the library they ratcheted up about £30 in fines and
have never been back (either with fines or books).
Ciara Eastell
The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. If you receive this email by mistake please notify the sender and delete it immediately. Opinions expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Cambridgeshire County Council. All sent and received email from Cambridgeshire County Council is automatically scanned for the presence of computer viruses and security issues
|