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AIBU?

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Original poster

Librarians!!!!!!!!

34 replies

bookwormmum · 29/05/2007 17:05

I took my DN and DD to the library today and when we were about to leave, it transpired that my DN had got an o/d book on her ticket from last year so her ticket was suspended. Fair enough but they claimed that they'd written to us (which I doubt) and it was our fault for not responding. We're talking about an 11-yr old girl here. Surely they should have let us take out her choices today and sort out this o/d book later? It's not as though I could produce the book from my armpit at that precise time. Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Original poster
bookwormmum · 31/05/2007 18:01

The fine was actually 60p and the cost of the book (I chose to declare it Lost to redeem the ticket) was £2.99 so I simply paid for it rather than argue the toss (why the librarian the other didn't give me this option, I fail to understand....). The librarian I spoke to today said that a lot of these thin books get lost - it was one of the Animal Ark book series by Lucy Daniels. So my niece promptly headed over to the shelves for some more!!

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nomoremagnolia · 31/05/2007 10:17

I once joined a baby who was 8 days old! (mind you the library was in the same building as the registery office!)

niceglasses · 30/05/2007 20:14

think even. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeezz

Chugnuts · 30/05/2007 20:14

If we have any o/d books the librarian just renews them for us and tells us what the fine is. We can either pay upfront or pay when we bring the books back.

There are no fines for o/d books for young children. Generally I think it's something like 10p per book per day for other books.

Our library is great and has really got ds1 interested in reading fiction.

niceglasses · 30/05/2007 20:13

I do thing UK libraries do good things too............Mein Got an argument on a library thread....only joking.

They've come a long way (baby).

(still think US libraries have a more embracing approach though, ahem one of the few areas in which they do imho.)

Original poster
bookwormmum · 30/05/2007 20:05

Oh it hasn't put me off - I've held a library ticket in my borough since I was about 2 and I did all the summer reading challenges myself - my dd does them all herself now. I got my dd a library ticket when she was about 2 months old! Not because I thought she'd be able to read at that age or even for a few years but it was convenient as I had her birth cert with me that day for other reasons and I could then use her ticket to get out baby books to read to her.

I'm always looking out for activities the libraries are putting on as they throw some great activities for children - it's a shame that this happened. It certainly won't put me off using the libraries but I'll be more careful to check how many books are taken out/go back in future!!

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pointydog · 30/05/2007 19:16

just to stick up for libraries - mine does all the wonderful things sofiames' one does too. There are excerllent libraries in UK too

Rusty · 30/05/2007 18:58

I used to work for Oxfordshire libraries nomoremagnolia! Rather a long time ago now, but I was assistant librarian at Abingdon.

nomoremagnolia · 30/05/2007 18:57

...and children (U15) get free reservations as well, we've got key fob tickets and online renewals too...
so many GOOD things about the library!

nomoremagnolia · 30/05/2007 18:55

Another librarian here - and one who's still got a job in a public library too!

We (in Oxon) don't charge for damage to children's books and we don't charge o/dues for under 5's at all, 5-15 they are charged a lower amount (to help them learn the penalties of the book being late back) and 16+ are treated as adults. However, you can owe £10 without anyone batting an eyelid and your account is only suspended when you owe over £30. This is fair to all I think as there needs to be a cut-off point to stop people taking the piss.

Always ask library staff to check if there's anything left on the card when you return things, and if you think something's been returned always look on the shelf! No-one's perfect and neither is any system, especially on a busy Saturday afternoon.

That said - libraries provided free books/storytimes/activities for kids/reading challenges over the summer holidays and we're heavily involved in Bookstart. (and we're BF friendly too)

Felt the need to defend libraries!!

Please don't let this put you off, I hope you can get to your branch library tomorrow and they can sort it out for you.

cat64 · 30/05/2007 17:11

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Marina · 30/05/2007 13:03

In fairness public libraries don't have that sort of clout bookwormmum. We charge titchy fines because we can always get the material back eventually

Original poster
bookwormmum · 30/05/2007 13:01

I think that the children's fines in our borough are something like 10p a day but there is a maximum cap of about £10 or you just pay for the book, whichever is cheaper. I'm definitely going to start a library book shelf from now on - woe betide anyone who moves them.

Universities have a better system - they just withhold your exam/degree results until you stump up for library fines or other things owed to them .

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Miaou · 30/05/2007 12:49

Marina - am going to Thurso - can't really get much further north!! Am salivating at the thought of the lovely library up there (well I have heard it is good, shall let you know if it lives up to expectations ). Moving on Friday (ie day after tomorrow!!) - so in theory will be in for 7 weeks before no. 4 makes an appearance!

FioFio · 30/05/2007 12:45

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Rusty · 30/05/2007 12:40

Another librarian here (well, ex anyway)
It's possible that the person on the desk wasn't able to over-ride the block if the ticket had actually been suspended - it may have needed authorisation from higher up.

I'd agree with Lilymaid's advice to check the shelves(though remember they may have more than one copy - you'd need to check the barcode number is the same)

Our local library also has nice little barcodes to put on your key-ring - shame they are also cutting qualified librarian posts to the bone......

Marina · 30/05/2007 12:35

Fio, they vary according to how much the Council thinks they can get away with dunning the public for.
Your authority and the one local to where I work charge amongst the highest in the country, nice
We are jeered at by our students for our paltry fines, in the nicest possible way I hate bloody fines

Marina · 30/05/2007 12:33

Miaou, you are moving? Have not seen you about for ages. How are you keeping? Dish, dish

FioFio · 30/05/2007 12:33

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Miaou · 30/05/2007 12:32

At the library I used to work at, we would never stop people borrowing books - we were able to override the system and nearly always did! We saved that for the occasional take-the-piss high school student (library was attached to a high school) but rarely followed it through. We would also allow people to pay off large fines a bit at a time, and children were not charged for overdue books. We also would let children borrow more than 10 books if we knew they were likely to bring them all back!! The advantages of being in a small place I suppose.

Where I am moving to there is a big library - I can't wait to go (and neither can the kids!). I hope that I can pick up some relief work there and hopefully a job there longer term.

(this post is slightly behind the times - I started it at 8.30am and have just finished it now - sorry if the conversation has moved on!!)

Marina · 30/05/2007 10:16

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agnesnitt · 30/05/2007 10:06

DimpledThighs, we should be very happy, but they are closing more and more down Our local branch library closed a few years ago. It has allegedly been integrated into a sporty building built near to where the old library building stands. In truth, it's nothing more than a room of books about sport now, there's very little else in there at all Makes getting tot he library with my daughter an absolute nightmare, as we now have to go to the central library in town, which is just not feasible on a regular basis. This is why I spend so much money on books, I don;t have to worry about getting them back on time

Agnes

Marina · 30/05/2007 10:05

Ah, good old ClaimRet Lilymaid
We check the shelves for the users ourselves in these circumstances as

  1. we accept that all systems are fallible
  2. we don't trust them to look properly anyway
Marina · 30/05/2007 10:03

IIRC where you were living before you moved sofia, was a local authority notorious for long-term bad public library provision I tend to agree with Agnes, some PLAs are doing very good work in the UK, the sector is not all bad And we have Bookstart, a brilliant scheme.

Agree that they should have let your dd borrow while you sorted out her ticket, bookwormmum.

But you can blame your local council for poorly thought-out overdue and invoicing problems, not the ever-decreasing number of experienced professional librarians working in the public sector. These days most of them have been sacked and replaced with clerical staff on even lower wages.

Our PLA has no professional librarians at branch level anymore, although we are very lucky that the assistants there are great - friendly, approachable and quite happy to explain in disgusted detail about the council's Send in the Bailiffs approach

DimpledThighs · 30/05/2007 10:02

I know that they can be really snotty and make you feel bad but I still marvel at the fact that we have libraries - where you can get loads of books for free!

Someone close to me comes from a country where they don't have things like this and he is constantly marvelling at this system.