Homeschool policy at the library

[Michelle My Bell]

done with the drama

[Lucy the Valiant]

My town is generous with all patrons but doesn't have any special allowances / rules for home schoolers.

[Murphy101]

Our library just recently stopped charging ANY overdue fees on the cards of minors!

 

I am one happy happy happy mama with that. It's not the kids fault the books are late and it's not the kids who pay the fines, but it is the kids who don't get more books until mom can pay the fines. So I used to be really strict about how many they could check out at once. No more than 2 each bc I wanted to be sure I didn't get crazy overdue fees if I couldn't make it back in time. Now, it's no more worries for me.

 

I still hate the online system. It's a bear for me to figure out.

[Butter]

I'm confused. You want special treatment because you homeschool? You said you are sick of fines because of computer errors, but they said your fines are valid which would indicate it was not a computer error. They also said they've given you plenty of graces in the past regarding fines. Of the last three library systems I've been a part of only one would let you renew if the date for renewal had already passed. It would still add fines to your account, but would let you renew. It is the borrower's responsibility to keep up with due dates. I'm honestly not convinced that homeschoolers keep circulation up. I know plenty of homeschoolers who do not use the library and plenty of non-homeschoolers who do. Mostly non-homeschoolers who do, actually. I'm just not sure homeschoolers "deserve" extra care. If I have ever missed renewing, I suck it up and pay the fine. It's my fault.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I am so fuming mad right now at my local library. I am going to start a city wide petition to revise their policies for homeschoolers and treat us with the extra care we deserve. It is because of us that their circulation stays up and allows them to get funding.

 

I am so sick of being charged for their computer errors. I tried to renew online the other day and the computer wouldn't let me because I had too many overdue items. I accidentally missed renewing them the day before and I was attempting to renew online so that the fines would not accumulate. So since it wouldn't let me I waited until they were open today to to renew. I had no problems renewing and I asked to have the fines removed. They refused saying they were my fines and I have had plenty of graces in the past. Whatever! This is the same woman who charged me $25 because one of their books wore out.

 

Anyhow, I know there are some of you that have generous library policies with special due dates / fees etc... I am looking for websites of your libraries policies because I am going to make a petition for all the homeschoolers in my county to get the policies changed. We are not average library users. We deserve special teacher policies.

 

Why should homeschoolers have special fees/dates?

[LuvToRead]

My local library doesn't have any special policies for anyone.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I am so fuming mad right now at my local library. I am going to start a city wide petition to revise their policies for homeschoolers and treat us with the extra care we deserve. It is because of us that their circulation stays up and allows them to get funding.

 

I am so sick of being charged for their computer errors. I tried to renew online the other day and the computer wouldn't let me because I had too many overdue items. I accidentally missed renewing them the day before and I was attempting to renew online so that the fines would not accumulate. So since it wouldn't let me I waited until they were open today to to renew. I had no problems renewing and I asked to have the fines removed. They refused saying they were my fines and I have had plenty of graces in the past. Whatever! This is the same woman who charged me $25 because one of their books wore out.

 

Anyhow, I know there are some of you that have generous library policies with special due dates / fees etc... I am looking for websites of your libraries policies because I am going to make a petition for all the homeschoolers in my county to get the policies changed. We are not average library users. We deserve special teacher policies.

 

What about the other homeschoolers in your area who are waiting for the books you have failed to return? Why not just take your books back on time? Many homeschoolers do that. I don't see how we are owed the privilege of ignoring the borrowing agreement just because we homeschool, and I don't see how it's a computer error that you can't renew books when you have too many overdue. That sounds like a policy, not an error.

[Arcadia]

All the seven library systems I go to have generic policy. No special treatment for anyone. Here it is the afterschoolers and senoirs who are at the library almost everyday. The libraries study rooms are pretty much fully utilised by study groups or kids doing homework.

[Hwin]

We get an extra week with books (edited to add - I have not seen this as a written policy, but my local librarian always gives us extra time with books and tells us to make sure we ask the other librarians for it).

 

http://crandalllibra...-homeschool.php This is the flagship library a couple of towns over; my actual local branch is extremely small (small, ancient, claustrophobic rooms), but thanks to free interlibrary loan it's just like living in the big city.

 

I love our library.

[jenn-]

Our online system will not let you renew overdue books either. It's annoying when I don't realize that I went overdue (usually only happens when I take a trip to the library on a special day), but it is still my fault for not paying attention and renewing or returning them on time.

[SarahW]

My library gives a "grace period" for fines if I renew. So if I renew online a few days after the due date I don't get any fines added to my total. Which is really nice, since I only log in every few days and I inevitably have one book due yesterday, one today, one tomorrow, etc.

 

If the library allows you to renew in person after the due date, then their online renewal should have the same policy.

 

The "grace period" is just a nice bonus.

 

If your library system has an educator's policy, maybe look into if they'll make it so homeschoolers can plug into that.

 

It sounds like the main issue here is the computer system. If you tried to renew online and it wouldn't let you, then the librarian should have been nice enough to knock one day of fines off the total. Unless they had some sort of stated policy that overdue books could only be renewed in person, but that's just weird for just a day or two overdue.

[Parrothead]

Well to be honest I think maybe their computer system needs the overhaul, not the policy of the library.

 

I have no idea what my local library policy for homeschoolers is. I hardly ever go there.

[Moxie]

I don't look at them as "fines" but as "donations" to the place we get hundreds of books from. Books being overdue are my fault. I really want no special treatment. Can you imagine the kerfluffle if the library gave homeschoolers extra time or lower fines?? No thanks!

[Dmmetler]

My library allows homeschoolers to get a "Teacher" card-which gives the option to check a small number of books out for up to 1 year as long as they're not requested by someone else.

 

I really haven't used it because, with three of us with library cards (and a limit of 50 books on each card) and the ability to transfer books from one card to another, and the ability to renew once on each card, we can check out for 18 weeks without doing the teacher checkout-and even the longest read-aloud or unit hasn't taken that long.

[beaners]

http://cincinnatilibrary.org/policies/circulationguidelines.pdf

 

Cincinnati has an educator card that homeschoolers can get without fines for overdue books.

[Jennifer3141]

We don't get special treatment for teachers here but I think that's an awesome idea. Special treatment for homeschoolers? Not so much...

 

I kinda like accumulating fines. It's fun to go in and pay them off and check out another stack. But i do try to keep track. Our online system sucks too. It is frequently down as well.

[Hwin]

It would be nice if there was a cap on fines; if you have 25 books it can get expensive very quickly.

 

I forgot to mention that I get a weekly email from my library with a "dashboard report" so to speak, and it really does a good job prioritizing what is coming due etc.

[Rebel]

When I read the first two paragraphs of this post, I thought it was meant as a tongue-in-cheek kind of thing, because I figured nobody could feel that entitled.

[Mom-ninja.]

The feeling and belief of "entitlement" is something I'm trying to prevent in my children.

[NotSoObvious]

If I owe fines at the library, I'm always embarrassed because it is always my fault.

 

We have really nice librarians, but I'm not sure what sort of extra treatment I need just because we homeschool.

 

Sorry.

[Seasider]

I have to wonder if it has anything to do with the number of books that were late. Renewing three overdue books is one thing. But if you have as many checked out as some hser's I know regularly brag about... renewing 45 overdue books is a different story. Especially if they are on hold for another patron. Or 45 other patrons, as the case may be.

 

I feel your pain. I have paid my fair share of library book "rental" fees, as my husband likes to call them. But rules are rules. They'd have to be truly restrictive to warrant seeking special privileges for high-use patrons (hsers or others). Maybe as Parrothead noted above, their online computer system is what really needs updating to discriminate between titles that are/aren't on hold? Our system is very modern, but I know that's not true everywhere.

 

If there is a larger university in your town, you may want to look into paying an annual fee for borrowing privileges. Their lending policies are usually more generous in terms of checkout time frames and number of items allowed out. Though our public library is hard to beat - 28 days/100 items per card. We could not responsibly handle that many books at a time at home (and we have easy access to the library for more frequent visits).

[Kathryn]

I'm really confused by the OP. Do teachers get special privileges that you think homeschoolers should have too? I could maybe understand that, though I don't see any problems with what happened to you so far regarding your fees. We don't have special teacher privileges for teachers that I know of, and certainly not for homeschoolers. We have a grace period of, it seems, 24 hours to renew before incurring fines. After that, you can still renew online unless your fines have hit a certain amount ($5 I think).

[Susann]

As a retired homeschooler and former cashier at our library, I don't believe homeschoolers deserve any special benefits. I guess I've heard too many excuses and accusations from the same people with fines over and over again. Returning items on time and renewing on time are just things I taught my dds as part of being responsible library patrons.

[magnificent_baby]

I don't think I would request special policies. My library is good about letting me renew over the phone, and on occasion will erase fines for strange mishaps. If they have a bad or difficult renewal policy or unusually high fines, I think I'd start there but not request special treatment. I'm awful about returning on time, and thus don't go very often. Our fines are on the high side, IMO. We can check out for 3 weeks, and that was usually plenty when we hs'd. If not, I renewed over the phone or online. If I felt I needed an item longer, I'd purchase it myself used.

 

ETA: I also get an email about upcoming due dates and overdue books, I love that. Perhaps you can request an email reminder service.

[alef]

We don't have any special policies for homeschoolers.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

The public library is for the public and should not have special treatment for any group. Teachers have school libraries they can use. Homeschoolers have home libraries they use. If you use a public library then follow the rules. Pay the fine when you forget to bring a book back. Renew when you need it for extra time (but remember others might want it to). If you feel you will need a book longer then the allowed time for a public book even wit the renews then you need to purchase a copy for your self.

I am sorry but I cannot get upset at your library for this.

[alef]

Thinking a bit more, I've paid my share of library fines over the years--I console myself with the thought that libraries are a service I use a lot and want to support--I mentally count the fines as a donation to a good cause. Makes me feel better...

[Momof3littles]

No special policies here at all.

 

In my last hometown, the library was awesome. If we were short one book and couldn't find it, we'd bring the rest back and they'd usually offer to renew one time to give us a chance to find it. And we always did. I didn't expect that, but they did it without us asking. They also sent email notices that our renewals were coming due, which made it easier not to miss them.

 

My current library is very stringent on the rules. I think they are within their rights, obviously. We can't get any email notice of renewals coming and sometimes I miss them, and then we can't renew at all online. They also frequently seem to miss books that we did return; they never get checked in properly and are then marked overdue. And then I have to call because I know we returned them, and miraculously they are always on the shelf somewhere. I know they are short staffed right now due to budget cuts, but it can be frustrating.

 

All of that said, I wish they'd be a little more accommodating at times, but I don't expect it. I miss our old library system and I felt like they really wanted patrons to *use* the library with their kids. However, I don't think my current "strict" library is doing anything wrong, other than screwing up checkins frequently ;)

 

edited to say that like several PPs, I consider it my "donation" when I have overdues. My kids have donated money to the library in the past outside of overdues ;) They wanted to help offset the budget cuts.

[LaxMom]

I don't look at them as "fines" but as "donations" to the place we get hundreds of books from. Books being overdue are my fault. I really want no special treatment. Can you imagine the kerfluffle if the library gave homeschoolers extra time or lower fines?? No thanks!

Yep. Every time we write a check for our fines the librarian says "thank you for your donation". Eventually, I figure they'll have to name a wing after us. :lol:

 

We can't renew overdue books online, either. And the only special policy I ever encountered was at a library where my kids did a monthly book club. They extended our due date to the next monthly meeting. It was really nice, but was extended because we were part of a program, not because we were inherently special as homeschoolers.

[Michelle My Bell]

Ok as I said I was fuming mad when I wrote it and probably didnt clearly state the problem, but I still feel that homeschoolers should have a special teacher card. I wasn't actually asking anyone if they agreed with me, I was simply asking for links to your libraries that have these sort of things in place as many do.

 

My situation involved a computer error. It usually lets you renew your books online but it had a glitch. At my library you can renew overdue library books as long as no one has them on hold. If there were other homeschoolers waiting for my books, as one person said... It wouldn't renew. My librarian SAID they had given me "special" treatment in the past. I didn't say that was a true statement and it wasn't. She was being snarky. I am having a bad today.

[J-rap]

Our library's computer system is a dinosaur, and it's trying to keep up but doesn't have the funds to update anything. It is frustrating, but I do feel sorry for them too. Our library is small and we are in a small town, but they have a fantastic all-state book borrowing system. Unfortunately, they do NOT have a good all-state renewal system, so we are often having problems with renewing books online that we borrow from various libraries across the state. Our librarian is great though, and as long as I go there in person (which is easy to do since it's only 8 blocks away), he'll get on the phone to the other libraries to renew my books, if necessary. We're lucky in that he's willing to do that, otherwise I'd be paying a lot more fines than I already do!

 

I know this isn't any help to you, but I do understand! Sorry for the problems you are having. :(

[mrs.m]

Ok as I said I was fuming mad when I wrote it and probably didnt clearly state the problem, but I still feel that homeschoolers should have a special teacher card. I wasn't actually asking anyone if they agreed with me, I was simply asking for links to your libraries that have these sort of things in place as many do.

 

My situation involved a computer error. It usually lets you renew your books online but it had a glitch. At my library you can renew overdue library books as long as no one has them on hold. If there were other homeschoolers waiting for my books, as one person said... It wouldn't renew. My librarian SAID they had given me "special" treatment in the past. I didn't say that was a true statement and it wasn't. She was being snarky. I am having a bad today.

 

 

Talk to the director, not the person at the desk. Our director has forgiven a number of my fines or cut them in half.

 

To my knowledge, everyone at our library has to follow the return/renew times. Teachers do not get special excuses.

[Julie Smith]

I like my library. They are nice and if you are able to find the right person they are helpful. (The unhelpful ones just aren't as familiar about things like the overflow shelve and ILL ... They just don't know how to do it and therefore spend tons of time doing something that should only take a moment)

 

But if you have to many over-due materials you can't renew anything online. That is just the way it is. I have no problem with it because I know that.

 

They don't charge anything and believe whenever I tell them, "This was already damaged..." when I checked it out.

 

Once they wouldn't let me pay for a book. We were at the library and Youngest accidentally spilled hot chocolate on a new book. It was just a kid paperback. So I tired to go pay for it. I think the person who wouldn't let me pay for it because they didn't know how to do it. Win for me I suppose. :)

 

We already have a Large checkout limit. We can put 30 books on reserve at a time. They let you put in ILL for free. (But I would like it if they were better about it. They can't tell you if your request for a book was approved and when you will get it. So you could request something from ILL and then wait anywhere from 1 month to 4 months to receive it. )

 

 

I would expect no special things since I homeschool. Yes, some homeschoolers check out lots of books, but some don't. Some non-homeschoolers check out lots of books, some don't.

 

ETA: We have a checkout time of 3 weeks, 2 more if you can and do renew. If you put something on hold it will stay on the hold shelf 4 days waiting to be picked up. When Youngest was little the library we used had a 7 day wait on the hold shelf, when they changed it to 3 days. This was hard since it meant if you constantly had things coming in you had to go to the library 2 to 3 times a week. 4 is so much better because it means you can just have 2 regular scheduled library days a week.

[alef]

Ok as I said I was fuming mad when I wrote it and probably didnt clearly state the problem, but I still feel that homeschoolers should have a special teacher card. I wasn't actually asking anyone if they agreed with me, I was simply asking for links to your libraries that have these sort of things in place as many do.

 

My situation involved a computer error. It usually lets you renew your books online but it had a glitch. At my library you can renew overdue library books as long as no one has them on hold. If there were other homeschoolers waiting for my books, as one person said... It wouldn't renew. My librarian SAID they had given me "special" treatment in the past. I didn't say that was a true statement and it wasn't. She was being snarky. I am having a bad today.

 

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: Sorry you're having a bad day.

LAPL allows homeschoolers to have a teacher card, with a checkout time of 6 weeks instead of 2. It doesn't specifically mention homeschoolers on the website though.

 

http://www.lapl.org/teachers/teacher-card

[*Lulu*]

I wish our system would let me renew online!

 

Our system does not have special teacher privilages, but the over all system is extremely fair. All non video materials can be checked out for two weeks and renewed for another two weeks if there are no holds. Each card can have up to 40 items checked out on it. (We max out at 160 for our family a couple of times a year!)

 

Occasionally I run into a situation where I need a book longer than 4 weeks; if there are no holds on it, our librarian will check in the book and then check it out to another family member's card for me.

 

I accumulate less than a dollar a month in fines, usually. At least a few times a year though I will have a *ahem* moment and end up with a 10-20 dollar fine. It stinks, but I look at it as money to a good cause. The library saves our family thousands upon thousands of dollars a year; I would struggle to homeschool without it and so view my tiny fines as my personal user fee.

 

 

By the way, it sounds to me like what you really need to be pushing for is an upgrade in the computer system if it is not allowing you to renew materials in line with existing policy.

 

[Tammyla]

We have a huge library and three smaller branches here in our city.

 

No special treatment or exceptions for home school families or teachers.

 

(They do allow public school teachers to check out a book for the school year.)

 

 

Sadly, I've paid more than my fair share of $fines over the years. We do have on-line reserve and renewal for all library patrons.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ok as I said I was fuming mad when I wrote it and probably didnt clearly state the problem, but I still feel that homeschoolers should have a special teacher card. I wasn't actually asking anyone if they agreed with me, I was simply asking for links to your libraries that have these sort of things in place as many do.

 

My situation involved a computer error. It usually lets you renew your books online but it had a glitch. At my library you can renew overdue library books as long as no one has them on hold. If there were other homeschoolers waiting for my books, as one person said... It wouldn't renew. My librarian SAID they had given me "special" treatment in the past. I didn't say that was a true statement and it wasn't. She was being snarky. I am having a bad today.

 

 

But there is no special homeschool policy to link you to. And there is no special policy that lets you renew overdue books without paying all fines over $10 first. If the books were due the day before and I didn't get them there to renew, then it is my responsibility If the computer is down and I am not able to renew them online, then I'm responsible to go there in person to renew them. Which sometimes I can't. So I suck it up and pay the fines. If a librarian was unprofessional in how she talked to me, I would complain to her boss. But I would make sure that I had been completely professional in how I had talked to her as well. Our library system is the biggest and busiest in the nation, according to the library website when it was reporting the national awards it has won. I would think it would be a good one to look at for what works..

[nmoira]

Homeschoolers here can get an Educator's Card (more holds, six weeks instead of three), but that is the extent of our special privileges.

 

We can't renew online or at the library with $20 or more in accumulated fines, but we do have the option to pay fines online. I've never asked fines be waived except after the week we were down with the flu a couple years ago.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Our library has fine free Fridays. Nothing special for teachers or homeschoolers. They just want their stuff! Lol.

[Julie Smith]

Ick! It would annoy me to no end if a book was checked out for a whole year. I don't care if it's checked out to a teacher or not.

[Word Nerd]

My town is generous with all patrons but doesn't have any special allowances / rules for home schoolers.

 

At the risk of having tomatoes thrown in my direction, I think this is how it should be. I checked out a lot of library books when I was a homeschooler—and I still do as an afterschooler. I don't think I'm more deserving of special treatment than other patrons just because I check out books for educational purposes. (I don't think school teachers should be able to check out books indefinitely either. They should utilize their own libraries as much as possible.)

[Michelle My Bell]

Jean the library was closed. I called them the first day they were open.

[Paige]

Our library does not have special treatment for teachers or homeschoolers. I keep a credit on my library card because I know I'll have a fine. We can renew online and the renewals are generous. We can also renew overdue books. Eventually, the renewals run out, however, and sometimes (lots of times) I really plan on returning them on time but things come up like sick kids, doctor appointments, etc., and we end up returning them late. I feel better just having $5 on my card to cover fines. I would have to be really late with a lot of fines to burn through that much quickly. Usually it will last years.

 

I also do not think caps on fines are a good idea. If the fines are big, then you are really late or have a lot of books overdue. Being really late or keeping a lot of books out of circulation is hurting the library and its patrons more than someone who has only a couple books a few days late. I wouldn't want anything to encourage bad behavior. ETA: I've had big fines before. It was totally my fault (or my kid's for losing something) and if the fines were lower, I'd have been less motivated to get the big stack of late books back quickly.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Jean the library was closed. I called them the first day they were open.

 

Ah. In that case, I would talk to the director. I've sent e-mails to ours before (part of the "contact me" section of their website) and got responses.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

No special exceptions here either. My librarian is very helpful though if there has been computer error.

[Tammyla]

See, I don't using a book for a year is fair--if it's a curricular book, the district should buy it. If you put a hold on said book, does it have to come back earlier?

 

 

I don't like the policy either. I found out about the policy, when attempting to check a reserve on a Teaching Company DVD.

[beaners]

.

 

I also do not think caps on fines are a good idea. If the fines are big, then you are really late or have a lot of books overdue. Being really late or keeping a lot of books out of circulation is hurting the library and its patrons more than someone who has only a couple books a few days late. I wouldn't want anything to encourage bad behavior. ETA: I've had big fines before. It was totally my fault (or my kid's for losing something) and if the fines were lower, I'd have been less motivated to get the big stack of late books back quickly.

 

Actually, I think libraries that have zero fine policies see MORE use than libraries with highly punitive fine systems. I recall reading a lengthy article about that very subject. I think that sometimes people figure they are so far in the hole they might as well throw in the towel and ignore the problem.

 

This is a timely topic for me, because we just needed to pay to replace a book. I moved all of the furniture in the house, but Spot Goes To The Farm is nowhere to be found. My 2 year old says it is "hiding," so we bit the bullet and paid to replace it. Why couldn't we lose a book I actually want?! The more depressing part about paying fines is that they often go into a general town or county fund instead of directly to the library. That was the case at one of the libraries we used to use. The fines weren't even benefiting the library!

[HRAAB]

We are allowed to renew books twice online as long as our fines are not in excess of $10. Our library is wonderful to everyone. Homeschoolers are treated the same as everyone else. I have never heard of teachers receiving special treatment, but it is possible. I have no complaints. The library always does their best to accommodate homeschoolers, and I'm appreciative of that especially since they don't owe us any special treatment.

 

A few times they have made a mistake which resulted in a fine. I talked to them and they waived the fine. Also, several times a year our library as a food donation box in lieu of fines.

[brehon]

 

 

But there is no special homeschool policy to link you to. And there is no special policy that lets you renew overdue books without paying all fines over $10 first. If the books were due the day before and I didn't get them there to renew, then it is my responsibility If the computer is down and I am not able to renew them online, then I'm responsible to go there in person to renew them. Which sometimes I can't. So I suck it up and pay the fines. If a librarian was unprofessional in how she talked to me, I would complain to her boss. But I would make sure that I had been completely professional in how I had talked to her as well. Our library system is the biggest and busiest in the nation, according to the library website when it was reporting the national awards it has won. I would think it would be a good one to look at for what works..

 

Ayup. This is how it works for the city library system I use. I check the books out; my responsibility for either turning them in on time or renewing them. There are no special rules for teachers (that I'm aware of) or homeschoolers. I also would not want same.

 

I'd just go online to various decent sized city or county library websites and read their policies.

[Dmmetler]

Do you have a university library? Most every one I know of has really long circulation times (like a semester at a time), and, especially if there's an education school, usually have good collections of children's literature, children's non-fiction, and often even have collections of K-12 textbooks and resources. I've found our college library a MUCH better homeschool resource than our public library.