The Ubiquitous Librarian

Phantom Spills at the UGA Library

The University of Georgia has placed me in an indefensible position. They claim that I damaged a book.

“The book was returned to us with extensive liquid damage, stained and still wet leading to mold damage.”

I disagree! The book never left my office and never came into contact with any liquid. However it doesn’t matter-- the fault is always on the user. This situation always favors the House. Anything that I have to say is irreverent. They are right, I am wrong. Your $97.30 is in the mail.

Interestingly enough, the item shows up as available in their catalog. Don’t you think they should have marked it in some way to let patrons know that it is not on the shelf?

Here is a blast from the past. How about them dawgs?

Charging for overdues is insulting!

The War in the Middle East, missiles in North Korea, gay marriage, the future of energy, the current heat wave and the impending agricultural impact, Big Government trying to censor schools and libraries with lame DOPA… All minor issues compared with my topic today: Library Fines.

I know I spend a little too much time in a bubble of idealism, but I was pretty surprised to discover that libraries still charge fines for overdue materials. If there is anything we can do to update our image, its getting rid of overdue fines, or late charges as the ALA President calls them. We’re living in a Netflix era now!It’s ridiculous to be charged $27.50 for a book that is 11 days late.

Users should not be fined, but simply lose privileges. Ban them from borrowing any more books, maybe take away their database access, but ‘late fees’ are not good. After a month or so, claim the item as ‘lost’ and have the patron return or replace. Charging for overdues is insulting! Thanks UGA!

Ok, I guess all the baby boomers can flame my blog now and call me irresponsible and delinquent, but honestly I think your fines are antiquated!