Fines, Dewey and Boards -- Oh, My!

Birds of a feather, flock together -- the basis idea behind a late afternoon of special interest discussion tables. But in this case, the entire flock wanted to discuss each topic at one table.

Discussion: Fines

The first discussion topic was the issue of charging fines. Many rural library staff would be stunned to know that some libraries charge no fines. When in actuality, many libraries do not charge fines for a number of reasons:

• They feel the fines are punitive, meant to punish the patron
• Some patrons feel that they are entitled to library service since they have already paid taxes
• The fines would not go to the library, but would be deposited to the local county or city general fund

Those libraries that charge fines justify the practice for their reasons:

• The fines can raise a significant amount of revenue, sometimes over $10,000 a year
• Libraries who are governed by a Board of Trustees are usually able to absorb the fine revenue into their general fund
• Charging fines provides an opportunity for children to learn responsibility
• Even though most patrons are taxpayers, that does not "entitle" them to abuse the privilege
• Paying fines is not mandatory. If a patron simply renews the item or return it on time, they will not be fined

For those libraries who are governed by a city or county entity -- who find themselves not being able to "keep" fine revenue, perhaps they could work towards changing the process, regulation or law. As impossible as that may sound, it still warrants investigation. If nothing else results in looking into this loss revenue, at least the public would be informed that the fine revenue is currently not going to the library, but to the city or county's general fund.

Fine revenue could be earmarked for acquisitions of new materials and computer services. This is something that the public would support. Why would the city or county government reap the benefits of a revenue that should rightly go to the rural public library -- especially if the library is facing extreme budget cuts from that entity? With shrinking budgets, libraries should be encouraged to raise revenue through fines and fees.

Another point to consider is passing a policy that states patrons must have a zero balance on their account before they can borrow library material or use library computers.

It must be frustrating for those libraries who have to rely on the local government for their funding -- especially if they are not given the opportunity to raise revenue to benefit their materials or computer budgets.

Discussion: Dewey or Don't We? Picture Books and Junior Series Display Options

What about shelving picture books by subject? Along with a general collection of picture books, consider shelving "like subjects" together, such as:

• Dinosaur
• Farms
• Animals
• School
• Alphabets
• Counting
• Princesses
• Fairies

Children will love to go directly to the section that has their favorite books. Picture books that do not fit into any obvious category could be shelved in the general Picture Book section.

Consider creating a section of the collection called "Junior Series Section". After an author has published three books in a series, shelve them together by the series title. For example, in this collection, if a young reader was looking for Harry Potter books, they would go to the Junior Series Section and look under "H" for Harry Potter. The call number would also be changed to include the series name.

Discussion: Boards

• Many libraries who are governed by a city or county government, will have "advisory boards" in place.
• Many board members are older, retired and really out of touch.
• Many board members have never used the library and do not even have a library card.
• Micromanaging can result in the loss of an effective director