The library is a wonderful place, really, it is! They’ve got books all over the place, plenty of couches, and the employees don’t look at you funny when you walk out after 3 hours with nothing in your hands to take home. Something you can’t always get away with at bookstores (although we try!) Even when you DO take something, they don’t charge you!!
….right away, that is!
Ok, so maybe everyone doesn’t have this problem. I thought I was over it. When I was younger I always had a problem getting books back to the library on time. My mom was either too busy to drive us there, or they’d get lost under the beds, or something crazy like that. There was always a complication.
When I finally “rediscovered” our library I thought all those issues were gone….I had my own car now, you could renew online, and…well, I thought I could change.
“Suddenly” (yeah right….suddenly?) this week I logged onto my library account and I noticed I had overdue fees!!! What?!!! Yup….$8.90!!! Mind you, the fees are only about $0.10 cents per book per day…but those dimes sure add up fast! So my frugal habit has suddenly turned into an expensive one! (Maybe not that expensive, but way more than free!)
I can ask myself “how did this happen”, but the truth is I know exactly how it did. And here’s what I’ll do next time in order to avoid it:
1) I won’t bite off more than I can chew! I already know the library gives me 28 days before I have to return the book, so if I know I have some busy weeks ahead of me I don’t NEED 3 or 4 books. One is probably fine.
2) I’ll immediately write down the due dates in my planner!! Even if I return them before that its always easier to cross off a due date than to find out a week later that I forgot!!
3) When I check out a high-demand book, I won’t act so surprised that I can’t renew it because someone else is waiting for it. Be prepared to have to return it on time…and plan accordingly.
4) Read more. That way I’ll be more likely to finish it (and want another book) before its due back at the library. (Another reason why 1 book at a time is a better idea for me.)
5) Never forget that $0.10 at a time will add up quickly!!
6) Keep the books in a designated and visible place. Hopefully I won’t forget about the books if they are in plain sight.
Now, I’m off to the library to pick up Julie Morgentern’s latest book!!! 
August 15, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I see this a lot at work. And it sounds like you’ve got a lot of good ideas. Regular readers seem to get fewer fines than sporatic ones. They’re always in and out and aware of what they have out.
Can you access your account online? I’ve found that very handy in keeping track of what I have out.
If I’m ever not working at a library, I’m going to have to be careful. I tend to bite off more than I can chew and then may let things come back late. But no fines for staff, except for videos.
P.S. Thanks for being understanding about renewals. Some people are positively shocked and even angry. But my job is literally at risk if I override it. Someone accidentally overrode it and we all got told that the next person to do it would have to answer to the library director. It’s one of the “red rules” at our place (like giving a card to a minor without parental consent).
August 16, 2008 at 5:48 am
Im the queen of this with libraries and end up making the WRONG choice
of just buying the books instead (I know. I know).
I had not though, Mrs. M, about accessing online (duh!)—–Im gonna try that route as, honestly, even the fines would be less than buying Jen Lancasters latest in paperback these days….
August 18, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I’m going to repeat Ms.Micah’s suggestion to check to see if you can access your account online. My library does this, and the ability to renew something at the last minute is worth having to type in 16 numbers just to log in!
Don’t beat yourself up too much, though. After all, you could never buy all those books for $8.90!
August 18, 2008 at 12:22 pm
The worst part is that we DO have online access! lol. I just either forget that the due date is coming, or forget that I have books altogether…and then there’s always the chance that I can’t renew a book that has been requested by another patron. If it wasn’t for online accounts I’d definitely owe WAY MORE than just $8.90!
August 20, 2008 at 12:35 am
This is so me. I have $12 fines at my library, which is one reason I haven’t gone back for awhile. I did renew them ONCE, but it was just too hard to click online and do it again. LOL
August 23, 2008 at 2:22 am
I used to be terrible at library fines, until I discovered the most wonderful invention ever – LibraryElf. It’s a website that you put your library details into (so you have to give them your library password, but I can’t think of any evil they can do with mine…!), and then they email you 3 days before your books are due, the day they’re due, and once they become overdue. It has seriously changed my life. No more fines! Well, at least I have to be *really* disorganised to get fines now. There’s a list of supported libraries on their website (http://www.libraryelf.com/Libraries.aspx) but it seems to be quite a few.
Anyway, sorry to run on like this when I’m not even a ‘real’ blogging person, but I just had to share the possibility.
June 10, 2009 at 1:39 pm
[...] libraries are NOT a good idea when you’re a bad patron like me. I vowed long ago that I would never accumulate late fees again, and yet here I am…again. [...]