Late library book - 28 *WEEKS* overdue! WWYD?

[oopslateagain]

DD (yr 9) has just found a school library book in her bookcase, it was due back just after the Christmas holidays and she had forgotten all about it. It had obviously been tidied up with some of her own books.

TBH if it were a few weeks late I would get her to sort it out, but I've figured out the overdue fine - at 5p per school day - as £7 and the book is only worth £4.99. The school has never sent any kind of reminder.

I have drafted a letter for DD to take to the librarian on Monday when she hands the book in, but it seems very long-winded and formal. I'm wondering if a short note would be better, but how to explain it all in a nutshell? I'm not contesting the late fees per se, but challenging the lack of reminders.

I expect they do have an upper limit for charges.

In the library where I work childrens books have an upper limit of 50p, so no need to get all worked up.

Get your dd to return the book and see what they say. If the fine is pounds and pounds then I would expect the library to allow her to pay in installments.

Schools should not charge for overdue books, it is wrong. However, if your dd is worried about returning the books perhaps she could explain to her tutor and they can return it for her. The library should be happy that it has been returned however late.

It would be quite amusing but as they already think I'm mad as a box of frogs perhaps I better not.
Not entirely sure how it has managed to slip through the net for three house moves. Perhaps it says more about my lax housekeeping.

school libraries only usually bother about missing/ overdue library books about a month before the end of the summer term. if they sent out reminders the rest of the time it would be a huge waste of paper and other (human) resources.

just get her to take it back and apologise. the letter is way ott.

Sadly muminpotnoodle charging fines (as happens in RL) is a way of generating much needed income.

However, having said that, at my school I have done away with the fines system as it didn't help getting books back and instead used detentions or rather the threat as 9/10 sts will return the book(s) before the detention!

Your DD, OP, should return the book herself - no need for any letter from youself she is in Yr 9 - she should go armed with a couple of pounds aswell -
If the librarian was me - I would go for a compromise - ie/ she gives me £4 and I accept £1 or £2 - so there is a consequence.

BTW today I had to pay £3.65 in fines to my local library.

I would also be a bit at yr DD not having got ANY reminder - if this is true then it is an unfair system - I give at least 1 (usually 2) informal reminders via the register (after all we all forget things like this - see above!!)

Also I am always amazed that if I see a student around the school and say you've got an O/D book you need to return they 99% produce from their bag = they've been carting it around for days/weeks.

1 main thing - I hope her school librarian doesn't come 'the old dragon' and puts yr DD off from using this facility again!!

Many of you seem rather hard on this child. Ok she forgot to return a book it's not a crime against humanity and plenty of adult do it all the time. Don't send a letter get your DD to take the book back apologise and hopefully they'll just waive the fine. If they insist on the £7 just offer to buy a new one instead that way you and the school will be happy. If your DD is really worried about it ring/go to the school yourself and speak either the librarian or student support. Make fairly light of it after all it's only a £5 book not a first edition of the St James Bible!

I would pay the fine without quibble. It doesn't matter that it's more than the book it worth. For the sake of £2, save face and pay the fine!

As a school librarian I would say just take it in smile nicely and say sorry you forgot you had it (you can point out you did not recieve a reminder) please do not just put it back on the shelf, with all the library systems I know will just stay on her account causing more problems!

They will probably let her off most of it tbh, or excahnge most of it for a detention. She may well have had a reminder, you know. I am a serial library book late returner, and I know that when I was at school, I would have told my mum I hadn't had a reminder to try and shift the blame.

I just paid £50 in fines to my local library. Obv I wasn't overjoyed, but it was my fault. It isn't the cost of the books in itself that matters, it's that if everyone just kept books as long as thet fancied, there would be no point having a library. EG, one of the books I had was on Russian history. While I had it and hadn't renewed it or anything, the library would have had to presume it lost, and might have had to buy another copy. Once, that would have been maybe £14.99, but imagine if someone else took it out then, and kept it for ages. Another £14.99. And so on. Libraries need to have a good selection of books and so they need to replace ones that go missing. Hence why you need to take books back or renew them, and why they have incentives to do so. Libraries are a public resource, not a free shop.

And yes, when I was a library assistant, I would fine people more than the cost of the book. If they told me they had lost it, I would charge them the fine AND the cost of the book. But we did have "fineless" accounts for under 16s and certain groups of adults. Also, we had a maximum of £6 per book per loan in fines.

Drop book quietly back on shelf. If they contact you smile sweetly and say but I brought that back ages ago
Our teachers were forever borrowing stuff without sighing it out so it was impossible to keep track.
DD is school librarian she always has nooks for weeks, no one ever fines her.

I presume that's a joke startail and you're not really suggesting that the op should encourage her daughter to be deceitful?

I can't see the problem - surely she just takes the book back to the library and apologises for forgetting she had the book? In year 9 she's quite old enough to take responsibility for her own actions without mum wading in on her behalf.