Discussion Collecting Fines

We charge fines, and we use our ILS system to issue email reminders to patrons with outstanding obligations. We withhold report cards for those who fail to reconcile accounts before the end of the quarter.

You might want to read "The Overdue Kid" by Mary K. Chelton in

Volume 19, Issue 4

, 1997, Pages 387–399.

I don't charge fines. I nag monthly and withhold the final report card for unreturned items.

I recommend only fining for lost or damaged materials. It's not worth the administrative hassle of collecting fines, and it associates guilt with the feeling of coming into the library.

I work in a small, rural school.  We have traditionally had a five cent per day fine although I have started giving a day's grace to students who bring in their books the next day.  It seems to create quite a bit of good will.  I put sticky note reminders on lockers. Weekly I send out a list of late notices with fines due to the English teachers, of which I am one.  I have had good response from the teachers, especially the junior high teachers.  I try to withhold report cards, but the students who are delinquent are usually the ones who don't care to get their report cards anyway.  I have thought about eliminating the five-cent fine, but I feel that we have an obligation to try to train those students to be prompt in returning the books or rechecking them.  They will face fines as adults, after all.  Also, we usually have only one copy of each new novel, and others are waiting for the chance to read the new ones.