Posted: March 10, 2010 |(0) Comments

Mequon — Ericka Roberts admits to letting life occasionally get in the way of returning her library books on time. So when Roberts returned three books to the Frank L. Weyenberg Library after their due date, she expected a fine, but what she didn't expect was a citation totaling more than $300.

Roberts said she had paid late fees before, but nothing of this magnitude.

"Those are the kind of fines I usually get, $3 here or $2 there," Roberts said. "They slapped me with a $352 fine, cited me and gave me a letter informing me when I had to go to court."

Multiple warnings given

Linda Bendix, director of the library, said that though citations such as Roberts' do occur, the library staff makes every effort to help their patrons avoid such a situation.

"We notify people three times about overdues at seven days, 17 days and 37 days," Bendix said. "And for those people who have e-mail notifications set up with us, we actually send out a pre-due notice, which is just a wonderful feature our patrons love. And then there is a personal telephone call."

Unfortunately, sometimes patrons do not return their materials after these multiple warnings.

"If we don't receive items back after 47 days, according to municipal code, we do file for a citation," Bendix said.

The amount of the citation depends on how many books are late and how many days past their due date the books are returned.

Though not an enjoyable experience for patron or library employee, the fees and citations are necessary to keep the library stocked and running.

"We have an obligation," Bendix said. "The materials in our library are paid by tax money, and we have a responsibility to be sure they are handled in a responsible manner. Our goal is not to make money off of late fees and citations."

Willing to negotiate

Bendix also mentioned that many times citations can be lowered if a patron meets with library staff to discuss the issue. Roberts met with library employees and negotiated a lowered citation of $153. Eventually, the entire citation was dropped. Still, Roberts said her concern is that citations as high as the one she received might deter people from utilizing the library.

"Especially in this economy, people are using the library more and more instead of buying books," Roberts said. "They're overcharging, and I had to jump through hoops."

Though the library's 25 cents-per-day fee may seem steep compared to the late fees of surrounding communities' libraries, the fee acts as incentive for patrons to return their materials on time.

"Each community and library board needs to balance in their minds what fee offers incentive for people to return items on time," Bendix said. "We may not have the same fees as communities adjoining us, however, the 25-cent fee is not uncommon in the state of Wisconsin."

The quarter fee has been in place since 2004, Bendix said.

Update contact information

Bendix said there are several ways patrons can protect themselves from a citation.

The first thing to do is make sure the library has current contact information, otherwise notices will go to the wrong address, phone or e-mail and charges start accumulating.

"By the time most people get into a situation where they owe considerable money it is because in many cases they have not kept their contact information current with us," Bendix said.

Such was the case with Roberts' situation.

People also can utilize the library's various resources to check the due date on material. A paper slip with a due date is printed with every check-out, and patrons also can use their library card number to check due dates via the library's Web site.

Finally, Bendix encouraged people to simply call the library with any question regarding checked-out material.

"Given that we offer the pre-due notice as well as offering three printed notifications and one telephone call," Bendix said, "we do try very diligently before it gets too far down the line."

Fines in surrounding communities

Library	Fee per day (books only)
Frank L. Weyenberg (Mequon)	25 cents
Brown Deer	15 cents
North Shore Library	10 cents
Shorewood	15 cents