Posted on 01/23/2009 1:25:55 PM PST by iowamark
What is your book loss per year.
What is the monetary loss of these books per year
Where does the money come from to purchase books
What I'm seeing is just not the one book, what I am looking at is the total losses to the library over the year from more than one person not returning a book. Sure, on the outset it looks like overkill but in the overall view ....
Imagine if someone borrowed something from you (editorially speaking) and refused to return it. You can't just go over to their house, enter it, and take it back. That would be illegal entry or stealing (OJ Simpson anyone?) You have to sue to get it returned. Judge Judy has a lot of those cases and the summation of it all is you just can't go and take your property back, you have to get a court order and a sheriff to get it ... same thing happened with the library.
>>Why does the library have the power to put you in jail when a video store cannot?<<
A video store can file criminal charges as well (Theft of Property). If you take property you go to jail.
They won’t though because they know you will eventually, most likely be back to rent another and pay fines.
What's negative about it? They gave her plenty opportunities to return the book. Theft is theft. I use our local public library all the time and it's really frustrating to be waiting on items that people won't return. People who think this is unduly harsh aren't the ones who utilize libraries.
This woman, through pure laziness, brought this on herself. I applaud the library. I'll bet another thing. After this story hit the wires, I'll bet a whole bunch of overdue books got returned to this library!
You are exactly right on how that works.
Perhaps I didn’t read it clear enough or I should have read more into it.
Wow! Great question!
Currently the items that are set to LOST, meaning those items that patrons have not returned, number in the 40,000 items range for this Regional Library, this is out of the 496,930 cataloged items we have in the system. Our materials budget is 1.2 million dollars. This includes DVD's, books, CD's etc.
You can remind the person, too, that theft of library materials is theft of public property and as a taxpayer I would be upset over the fact that someone did not return the public's property that the public paid for through with their tax dollars. Also by not returning the library's material, this person was preventing others from access to that particular title.
Most libraries have a very tight budget and when we have to replace the material this is an additional cost to the library, which is an additional cost to the taxpayer. Some items we cannot replace either because the title is out of print or the budget for replacements has been reduced.
We also send notices to patrons with overdues, we even send a pre-overdue notice, some of our patrons have racked up bills to the tune of over $1500.00, these folks are sent to a collection agency, the library does recoup some of the fines (cost of the book and the overdue fees) this money goes into our general fund. The rest we have to write off because of the statute of limitations on recovering money and or materials.
My note: If the average book is $13.95 then 40,000 non-returned books amounts to $558,000 just for this library system. So no, that was not excessive for that woman to be charged. It's your tax money.
Regards, J
I bet a couple of hours in jail wiped the liberal look off her face!
Since you already took care of the Mr. Bookman reference, I give you Al Bundy and Mrs. DeGroot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RdtX9fwTOk
Guilty!! Unless the woman has some hidden talents, the law should throw the “book” at her..give her several years. Theft is theft.
A different high school than I graduated from.
Do you honestly think jail is the appropriate measure to deal with an overdue library book? I am not willling to tolerate the waste of court time and resources on a library book. It would be cheaper to buy a replacement and if you really want to recover the cost lien the property. Which if it is written into the municipal’s ordinance can be done. If there is no property to lien than you eat the damn 13.50. For a tolerable figure I would say anything with a value of less than 100.00 should not be pursued in the courts. And I would like to think the library is insured against loss- and I am not thinking of theft but of loss due to damage.
I believe the punishment or repercussions for an illegal act should be proportionate both in means and cost. This was neither. But you seem to think the civilized world will come to an end unless they hang this woman by her thumbs and fine her 1000 per day till the damn book is returned. I think the courts have enough to deal with. And since I don’t doubt that part of the tax payer money goes to pay librarians who defend the right of pervs to see child porn in the library I am not too concerned they lost 13.50.
I do want to add, she messed up by ignoring any order to appear in court. That is totally her doing and she should bear the consequences. I look at that as a separate issue form the library book though it did arise from it. Always have your butt on the seat on time if you are called to court. Unless you are in the hospital or dead you damn well better be there when that summons says you’re to be there.
And I chose the word retribution carefully. The concept of retributive justice is certainly in play here, again, just as it is for more serious crimes.
And as a later comment mentions, the "value" of the book does not equal the cost of replacing it (if it is ever replaced).
Why couldn’t the bitch just return the book?
I see you support walking the check in restaurant’s and shoplifting from stores as long as it is under $100.00.
Did you order Girl Scout cookies and then stiff the kid?
Your view is very liberal.
I am in favor of some sort of fine. If she is a property owner I do not object to a lien for the cost of the book and even a fee per day till it is returned. If she is not a property owner then it really does become a matter of what makes the best fiscal sense. Especially if this woman has always returned her books and this is an anomoly.
As for private merchants I do favor filing charges in most cases regardless of the value of the merchandise. But I might treat a 10 year old taking a cheap toy differently than a gang of adults walking out with a stereo system. The 10 year old I would be inclined to use a scared straight approach.
And again if the jail term was actually for the failure to appear well boo fricking hoo for her.
No I am not liberal. But I don’t think a jail term is the appropriate response to an overdue book. I do think it is an appropriate response for a failure to appear.
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