Tough as Nails Outside, Squishy Marshmallow Inside
At Teton County Library, we don’t put limits on the number of books a person can check out. I love allowing people to explore their interest and ideas and reading to the fullest extent. I only ask that patrons bring things back on time for others to enjoy.
Yesterday, I had a hard conversation with a patron about materials that they had kept out for an extended period of time. The books were out for so long that we sent three notices to the person asking them to either renew the materials if they weren’t done with them or else to return them. We didn’t hear anything from the patron.
At this point, the library has to make some decisions about these materials to best serve all patrons. The people waiting to use the materials are frustrated because the books have been checked out for so long and do not appear to be coming back to the library. So, after three notices to the patron, the library considers the materials to be “long overdue” and starts the process to reorder the materials. We had no way of knowing whether this patron would ever return these materials.
The most difficult part of my conversation with the patron was centered around the fact that she has now returned the materials. But because they were so late, she now has a substantial bill on her library card. The “marshmallow” in me is glad that she returned the books. But the tough side of me feels a responsibility to hold her accountable for her actions which left other patrons without those resources.
As I said, I love the honor system we have in place at public libraries. My nature is to trust people. When they ask me how many books they can check out, I say “there’s no limit.“ I believe this is a wonderful benefit to our community. But when the system has been abused, I believe I need to hold patrons accountable.
Deb
