Library heart attack!!!!!

[simka2]

I took the kids to the library today. We have a great new library that is a part of a wonderful system of libraries. We bring our armload of books to the counter, and I am told I have $98 in fines!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!! I was in there 2 weeks ago...with no fines, and I didn't check out anything! How did that happen?

 

So they look up my account, and supposedly the book on cd I brought back months ago...was still checked out. I hustled over to that section of the library as fast as I could, grabbed it off the shelf and said "here it is!"

 

OMG! Those books on cd are expensive!!! There was no explanation as to why I wasn't told sooner, but she did apologize for giveing me a heart attack.

 

I still love my library, but that was scary!!!

[hsm6kids]

something similar happened to me a few weeks ago. I went online to reserve some books and saw a fine for not returning FLL and the well trained mind. I called and she said they didn't have them. I told here look I remember returning those books and here is why, I had them so full of sticky notes, that it took me forever to transfer all my little notes to a note book and remove all the stickies. I have since bought my own copies. She finally decided maybe I was telling the truth and went to check the shelves and sure enough there they were.

[Cinder]

I think I would have freaked, too! Our library has a set limit (can't remember what it is right now, but MUCH lower than $98--$10, I think) where if you've accrued that much in fines you can no longer borrow. Your privileges are suspended. And in a case like yours they'd send a letter.

 

Does your library have internet-accessible accounts? That's how I keep track of my books. In fact just the other day I had to pull one off the libarary's shelf that managed not to get checked in. In the meantime, I was able to renew online to avoid fines on that title before I had a chance to pull the book myself.

 

Glad it all worked out for you.

 

Cinder

[Margo out of lurking]

I've been on both sides of this, with a wonderful library constantly telling me that I had overdue books. I would almost always find them on the shelf. I only found one a year later (ds's hockey bag, and he didn't play hockey!). But *I* always felt guilty, even when I found the book on the shelf!

 

Now I work for a library. We are supposed to (rightfully) believe people. We are happy to do a shelf check, and if it's not there, we mark their account that they claimed the book was returned. We also ask them to double check around the house. It's safe to say that most of the staff is familiar enough with different patrons and I have a good idea who might find a book still at home, and in that case, I won't mark their account just yet.

 

Marking the account creates a trail to see if it becomes a pattern. Someone who continually claims to have returned items probably really doesn't, but I've never come across someone who abuses their library privilege that way.

 

But it can be like a brick in your stomach when someone asks if you've returned something that you know you have.

 

So on behalf of my library, I apologize! lol

[Audrey]

I took the kids to the library today. We have a great new library that is a part of a wonderful system of libraries. We bring our armload of books to the counter, and I am told I have $98 in fines!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!! I was in there 2 weeks ago...with no fines, and I didn't check out anything! How did that happen?

 

So they look up my account, and supposedly the book on cd I brought back months ago...was still checked out. I hustled over to that section of the library as fast as I could, grabbed it off the shelf and said "here it is!"

 

OMG! Those books on cd are expensive!!! There was no explanation as to why I wasn't told sooner, but she did apologize for giveing me a heart attack.

 

I still love my library, but that was scary!!!

 

Yes. That happens. The busier the library is, the more likely they'll miss a check in here and there. We always give the patron the benefit of the doubt if they say they returned it, though. It then goes on a shelf-check-list for us to try to find later. 9 times out of 10, it's right there on the shelf. Even when it isn't, we take it as a loss.

 

Sorry for the shocker, but I'm glad it was promptly corrected and they apologized.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We had a similar problem here after they implemented a new computer system at the library (I liked the old one:(.) For several weeks in a row, they insisted that we didn't return books that I distinctly remember returning. The library lost them (these were not books that I "thought" I returned, they were ones I "know" I did - because I had to put them in a different slot because they went to other branches.) When I asked how I could prevent this from happening, they told me that I could have them checked in while I waited. So that is what I do - EVERY SINGLE TIME. Some library workers don't like that, but after $100 in lost book fees, I insist.

[In2why]

I think as budgets get tighter the libraries are becoming more strict about fines, and trying to collect money. I actually refuse to pay a fine I KNOW I don't owe. We checked out a kids book about dogs because we were looking for a dog at shelters. But the important part is we did not have a dog at the time we checked out the book. We returned it and the next time I went in they said I owed $22 because our dog chewed up the corner of the book. I explained we didn't have a dog. They treated me like I was lying because it was a book about dogs. I told him there wasn't any chance that we damaged that book. Then they asked if we had a cat, and when I said yes, they insisted my cat chewed the book. Well every room in our house has books everywhere and I never had a cat chew a book so that is hard for me to believe. I also have a feeling that if I said we didn't have a cat they would have insisted my child chewed the corner of the book. I wouldn't mind paying if we damaged it, but I can go to the children's section and find lots of books with damage right on the shelves and I know we were not responsible. So I won't pay, and I go to the library in the next town because they have a better selection anyway. But now I make sure they make a note of any damage a book has before I check it out. It is shocking how many have damage, and I don't want to be on the hook for fines. Plus there isn't another library to go to if I have a problem with this one. :glare:

[Dobela]

Our library won't let us check out books unless our fines are below $2 now. Before it was $10 I think. The crazy thing is their Wall Of Fame where they post the worst case offenders. Some of those folks have fines nearing $1000. How in the world???

 

If we have a book that is not returned, they will recheck it in our names a couple of times to give us (or them) time to find it before assigning big fines or consequences.

[datgh]

Our library just has a guilt jar! Gotta love a small town! They are just happy that the kids and I keep circulation up so the town doesn't cut their funding.:lol:

[Meriwether]

I stopped using our library because of an unjust fine. I had about 30 children's books checked out. I wasn't able to go to the library, so I renewed them online. The next time I went to the library, they told me I had a 60.00 fine. I told them I had renewed the books online. The first librarian I talked to said that I should have left the site and reentered to make sure the renewal worked (which would have been all well and good if I had KNOWN that). The second librarian said a lot of people had trouble because they renewed online, but the system didn't record it. We were transferred soon after, but I haven't used a library since then. And I never did pay the fine. I still wonder if I should, but I just don't want to.

[Maverick_Mom]

I took the kids to the library today. We have a great new library that is a part of a wonderful system of libraries. We bring our armload of books to the counter, and I am told I have $98 in fines!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!! I was in there 2 weeks ago...with no fines, and I didn't check out anything! How did that happen?

 

So they look up my account, and supposedly the book on cd I brought back months ago...was still checked out. I hustled over to that section of the library as fast as I could, grabbed it off the shelf and said "here it is!"

 

OMG! Those books on cd are expensive!!! There was no explanation as to why I wasn't told sooner, but she did apologize for giveing me a heart attack.

 

I still love my library, but that was scary!!!

 

I can't tell you how often that's happened to us -- books that we returned weren't logged in correctly and were put back on the shelf but still appeared on our record. One time there was a book from Inter-Library Loan that was supposed to go back to another library, but they couldn't find it -- because it had been shelved at *our* library.

 

Then of course there was the time when we had a $40 fine that was legitimate ... because ds wasn't keeping track of his record. He spent a while paying that one off. ;)

[Maverick_Mom]

I stopped using our library because of an unjust fine. I had about 30 children's books checked out. I wasn't able to go to the library, so I renewed them online. The next time I went to the library, they told me I had a 60.00 fine. I told them I had renewed the books online. The first librarian I talked to said that I should have left the site and reentered to make sure the renewal worked (which would have been all well and good if I had KNOWN that). The second librarian said a lot of people had trouble because they renewed online, but the system didn't record it. We were transferred soon after, but I haven't used a library since then. And I never did pay the fine. I still wonder if I should, but I just don't want to.

 

We've had problems with books that were put in the book drop not being taken out for a couple of days. They'd be due on, say, Tuesday, and we'd drop them off at the book drop on Tuesday before the library closed. But the little old ladies at this particular library apparently didn't feel like emptying the book drop before they left for the day; they'd empty it the next morning and of course by then the books were late. Of course, they insisted that I was "misremembering" when I'd returned the books, and it was my word against theirs. I paid the fine -- it was minimal -- but refused to use that library again.

[Maverick_Mom]

Gotta love a small town! They are just happy that the kids and I keep circulation up so the town doesn't cut their funding.:lol:

 

 

Same here! We have a wonderful relationship with our library and there is a running joke about how we're trying to check out enough books to get a wing named after us. ;)

 

If there's a problem with our record, we're given the benefit of the doubt because they know us so well, and because when we're wrong (it happens ;)) we 'fess up and pay the fine and tell 'em to keep the change. I love my library. :001_smile:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Same here! We have a wonderful relationship with our library and there is a running joke about how we're trying to check out enough books to get a wing named after us. ;)

 

If there's a problem with our record, we're given the benefit of the doubt because they know us so well, and because when we're wrong (it happens ;)) we 'fess up and pay the fine and tell 'em to keep the change. I love my library. :001_smile:

 

Our librarian admited that his circulation numbers would go down when we moved.

 

It took a year for them to warm up to us, but several librarians are very nice now.

 

(And I've got two that we can't figure out if we returned or if they are under a bed somewhere. Doesn't help that we have hundreds of ex library books on our shelves. Library books just don't stick out when they are put somewhere strange.)

[Ravin]

Just today I went and found something I turned in a couple of weeks ago that they said was still out sitting on the shelf. It's happened about four or five times in the last year. They always refund any fines after I do the shelf search for them. They have yet to find it themselves after I report the error. It's one of those things that just happens.

[Lara in Colo]

My library has a "claimed returned" section, where I get the book off of my account and they flag it for extra attention, even when not found, they let it slide.

I didn't feel well last week and didn't check my accounts--I saw this thread and when to look, one account had 97 overdue books!!!

I renewed all but 4 and it looks like I wasn't charged (wonderful!)

 

Lara

[simka2]

You all are too funny! I just looked at her and said, "How'd I go from $0 to 97 in 2 weeks?" I guess I just happened to come the day after they posted it as lost...and somehow it had never come up as overdue. It ended well, but now I'm going to be neurotic about books on cd!!!! :D

[Margo out of lurking]

Re the $97 audio book.

 

When cataloging books, we put in the list price of the book, not what we paid for it, with the idea that we don't know what we'll be able to get it for down the road. And unless the book is new and in demand, we typically don't literally "replace" books that patrons pay for when lost.

 

We will encourage patrons to replace the item with a like item (replacing a hardcover with a hardcover of the same title, for example) instead of paying the sometimes outrageous book replacement cost. Many will order the book used off of amazon and still end up saving a lot of $. If anyone is in this situation, you might check with your library to see if that's an option.

[lisamarie]

Our library just has a guilt jar! Gotta love a small town! They are just happy that the kids and I keep circulation up so the town doesn't cut their funding.:lol:

 

Yup, that's us. Doing our part in keeping up those circulation numbers.:D

 

I've had this happen to me a few times. Once I returned a couple books, they cleared my account, and than mysteriously 4 months later were suddenly back on my account as having been checked out the whole time. :confused: I went and talked the librarian and he knew that I wasn't mistaken because I go in every week and check out 30+ books and have yet to lose one after 2 years, so he did some digging.

 

The other times I've found 1 book on the shelf, and a couple I wasn't positive I returned but was pretty sure, so I just kept renewing online and eventually they cleared my account as someone else checked them out.

 

I am just happy that out of the 2000+ books and DVDs we've checked out over the past 2 years, I've never had to pay a fine on anything or lost anything. (I only started using the library we use now when I started HSing because my local library is horribly small).

[Cera]

I think as budgets get tighter the libraries are becoming more strict about fines, and trying to collect money. I actually refuse to pay a fine I KNOW I don't owe. We checked out a kids book about dogs because we were looking for a dog at shelters. But the important part is we did not have a dog at the time we checked out the book. We returned it and the next time I went in they said I owed $22 because our dog chewed up the corner of the book. I explained we didn't have a dog. They treated me like I was lying because it was a book about dogs. I told him there wasn't any chance that we damaged that book. Then they asked if we had a cat, and when I said yes, they insisted my cat chewed the book. Well every room in our house has books everywhere and I never had a cat chew a book so that is hard for me to believe. I also have a feeling that if I said we didn't have a cat they would have insisted my child chewed the corner of the book. I wouldn't mind paying if we damaged it, but I can go to the children's section and find lots of books with damage right on the shelves and I know we were not responsible. So I won't pay, and I go to the library in the next town because they have a better selection anyway. But now I make sure they make a note of any damage a book has before I check it out. It is shocking how many have damage, and I don't want to be on the hook for fines. Plus there isn't another library to go to if I have a problem with this one. :glare:

 

 

We had this happen with a book. The librarian actually yelled at my kids and I and accused us of lying about not having a dog. I filed a complaint with the head of the library system because of his inappropriate behavior and our books suddenly started turning up missing when I knew they had been returned. We filed a second complaint and stopped using that branch but it stunk because it was the one that was 1/4 mile from our house (we walked down a few times a week).

[Belacqua]

We had this happen with a book. The librarian actually yelled at my kids and I and accused us of lying about not having a dog. I filed a complaint with the head of the library system because of his inappropriate behavior and our books suddenly started turning up missing when I knew they had been returned. We filed a second complaint and stopped using that branch but it stunk because it was the one that was 1/4 mile from our house (we walked down a few times a week).

 

That's horrible! Jerk.

 

I haven't had to avoid an entire library, but there is a particular circulation person I try not to deal with. She's very sweet, actually, but extremely rigid. I returned a Teaching Company dvd set that had been labelled (by the library) as having two accompanying books. There was actually one book that comprised both volumes, and this was plainly spelled out, but she was unyielding. I showed her that the book started and ended with the same lessons as the dvds, but her records said two books.

 

She very kindly gave me an extra renewal so I could "look for that other book" (which I knew didn't exist). So I just went back a few days later and explained the situation to another librarian who nodded and said, "Oh, I see. It's two books in one volume. I'll make a note of that." I could have kissed him.

[KidsHappen]

That has happened to me so many times that I now automatically check the shelves myself before I even talk to them.

 

Once though, my dd took a book to WI and lost it. I went in to take care of it only to find that it had been returned. :confused: I couldn't believe it so I checked the shelf myself. I had checked out the only large print copy so when I found it on the shelf, I knew it was the same one. I can only assume that someone found it and returned it to their library and it was returned to ours via the ILL system. It wasn't even late. Of course, I have done the same thing (return a found library book) before so I shouldn't have been too surprised but usually when this happens, it is a book from a local library.

[Dmmetler]

I've had it happen several times. I just renew the book, check on the shelf, bring it up, and they clear the fine. I've also had a couple of books, particularly kids' books, which turned out to be behind DD's bed or under the couch, and renewing gives me a chance to find it.

 

And I've paid quite a few late fees because we simply lost track of the number of weeks we had a book out (NEVER check out books before you go on a 2 week vacation-because when you get home there are all these nice, new library books to read, and you forget to return them!)

 

I strongly suspect the homeschool community is what is keeping our local branch open. And I'm sure it's no coincidence that the suburb with the highest homeschool population in the area is also the one suburb that is still part of the big city library system instead of having it's own, separate library.

[jelbe5]

We use two libraries. One library installed a special drop slot which automatically discharges items as they pass through the slot. It is wonderful . . . since they installed that several years ago we have never had a problem with returned-but-not-discharched items.

 

The other library has staff manually discharge items and every once in a while something we have returned is not removed from our account. :glare: It seems to happen when we return a large number of items at one time.

 

Adrianne in IL