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up vote 5 down vote favorite

If success is defined as:

  • negligible or manageable theft/loss
  • regulatable/observed loan periods
  • timely returns or efficient method of holds/recall
  • timely & cost effective method for replacing lost items

Just curious. Anecdata accepted. It came up in a conversation.

Let's limit the question to physical items (books, cds, dvds). Please suggest how I could improve the question, and feel free to point out related literature I should have read in library school--but didn't.

EDIT: for clarification of the original question title "alternative lending systems w/o fines" elsewhere on this site an 'honor system' was mentioned.

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Your question is worded oddly. Are you asking "What are some alternatives to fines that have been successfully implemented?" The part "(or alternative lending systems w/o fines)" is what throws me a little bit. I do realize there are libraries out there that don't charge fines! I think this is a great question but the wording is a little cumbersome. – KatieR♦ May 30 '12 at 17:02
@KatieR I hope I have clarified. – AaronC May 30 '12 at 17:07
Yeah, I think that is a better wording. It wouldn't hurt to ask about what libraries that do not use fines use instead to control their collection regarding honoring lending periods. I would be interested to know that as well. :) – KatieR♦ May 30 '12 at 17:10
I feel like I should select a "best answer" but the nature of my question really left it open for a lot of equally good answers. I think it is awesome what some people are doing: great ideas! I guess this is a 'meta' comment, but I'm still new to the stackexchange thing. Anyway, I'd like to see more ideas if people have them--I don't think this thread has become "discussion board-y" yet... do you? – AaronC Jun 1 '12 at 14:16
Pick whatever answer you think answers your question in the most direct/best way and then upvote any other answers you find really helpful. – KatieR♦ Jun 1 '12 at 14:29

6 Answers

up vote 7 down vote

At my old library, patrons under the age of 18 could read off their fines in the library during the summer months. It was a fairly lax system - as in we didn't have to patrol their activity like policemen, thank goodness, we were busy enough as it was - but I think it worked well. For every half hour they'd read, we would take a dollar off their fines. This accomplished three good goals:

  1. getting material back on our shelves, esp. crucial during the lean summer months of summer reading;
  2. getting kids in the library, which often then translated into attending summer programs, participating in book clubs, and just generally using the lib. more;
  3. helping our younger patrons feel good about the library, and not scared of it! we had some kids with fines of hundreds of dollars. they would have never come back to the library if we hadn't had a program like that.. and in fact, that's what happened to me as a kid, i had so many fines, i didn't go back to the library until in my twenties..
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1  
I work in the Youth Department and we realize that it is often hard for kids to pay off large fines. We offer them an opportunity to do community service for the library at a rate of $5/hour. This accomplishes many of the same goals as your system. :) – KatieR♦ May 30 '12 at 17:58
1  
wish that had been an option at our library! community service hours were always very hard to come by at our library, we had long long waiting lists, and that was strictly due to lack of staff to supervise, what a shame. – andrea May 30 '12 at 18:12
up vote 4 down vote

Columbus Metropolitan Library allows users to "read off" a portion or all of their fines. Others allow volunteer hours in various capacities to offset fines. This is a pretty useful policy, conveying that the library's interest is more in readership than in money. Nobody wants to be the Blockbuster of books.

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up vote 4 down vote

It's not quite a fine alternative, but "fine holidays" often help libraries retrieve materials thought lost. As a bonus, they can bring patrons who fear or dislike fines back into the library.

A "fine holiday" is when a library sets a period of time (often a week or two) during which overdue items can be brought back, and all fines that have accrued on them will be forgiven.

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Could you please explain "fine holidays" to, say, a martian? I never heard the term before. – Tatjana Heuser May 31 '12 at 14:44
Oh, sure, sorry! A "fine holiday" is when a library sets a period of time (often a week or two) during which overdue items can be brought back, and all fines that have accrued on them will be forgiven. – dsalo May 31 '12 at 14:49
Thanks! Sounds like a great idea, and I can well imagine how it could bring back items. Of course, if it recurs at a predictable schedule, it might have a rather adverse effect... – Tatjana Heuser May 31 '12 at 14:55
I've seen it called "Amnesty Week" as well. – KatieR♦ May 31 '12 at 20:36
up vote 3 down vote

I've seen integrated library systems use a system of demerits in which checkout privileges are suspended for a period time when a threshold of demerits is reached. See UniSA Library - Demerit points and Library fees for an example.

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up vote 2 down vote

Our library will take book donations of equal value or more. As long as it is a book that can be used in the library. This seems to work well.

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Wow ... we (the Friends group), have tried to give the stuff in good condition to the library, but as it's all managed from administrative offices and not the branch, they can only easily swap 'em in for missing or damaged items. – Joe May 31 '12 at 19:28
up vote 2 down vote

As many others have stated, alternatives to cash payment are helpful, especially in younger age groups. Helps show a non-monetary mission and also get involvement. This can include fine forgiveness coupons (as prizes or earned), reading, community service.

While not dealing with any of your goals, online payment has helped with payment of fines. Some now just keep it longer, finish and then pay the fine since it is convenient. Not sure if this keeps holds manageable with patrons not rerequesting things they didn't finish, but likely leads to some longer loans.

One option I haven't tried but have been thinking of is more on the encouragement side in the return courtesy notices (almost due). I've been trying to find the article but there was one regarding putting statistics on receipts like trees saved, etc when people failed to bring their reusable, etc. It was worded well not to be insulting but places saw an increase in customers remembering. It was adapted to other places as well. I would be curious if any library has tried similar with notices stating how many people are waiting for the item and encouraging returning early if finished. Our current ILS doesn't make this easy since it is dynamic but hoping to try it out in the future.

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