[CALIBK12] GEN RE: fines policy in your library

[Ron Black]

Hate to disagree with you Blanche, but, yes, the one time I got a
parking ticket taught me a valuable lesson  and I've been ultra careful
ever since. As for pennies and dimes, at my site we charge $20 for a
lost hardback book, $10 for a lost paperback book, and if the student
can't afford to pay the fine, we give them the opportunity to work off
the debt by coming to the library and doing whatever job the librarian
puts them on- which gets $2 waved off their fines each time they show
up. The money is used to purchase library books. My opening day speech
to each class includes a section on how each person is responsible for
the materials they check out and what happens when they don't take care
of what they've borrowed.

>>> Blanche Woolls <bwoolls at slis.sjsu.edu> 1/25/2008 1:38 pm >>>
Unfortunately you don't teach responsibility with charging fines. You 
teach people that if they are willing to pay for something, they don't

have to be responsible. They can just pay.

Does it really make you more responsible if you get a parking ticket?
Do 
you really learn from this fine? Or, do you just think, "Oh, dear, that

was a problem." What you may do is stop the child from taking materials

from the library. It certainly doesn't make the child love the library
and 
that's the biggest loss of all.

The library is theirs to share with others and in the sharing they
learn 
to return things so others can use them. If no one else needs it at the

time, what is the harm.

You would be better to check things out for an entire semester with the

understanding that this longer time meant they had to return anything 
immediatly if someone else needed it, that is real responsibility.

And, whatever do you do with all those pennies and nickles. Do you
really 
need them? Trust me, most students remember the horrid librarian that
sat 
on them and didn't let them take books because they had a fine. They
will 
better remember if you teach them that the library is theirs and that
has 
a responsibility, to bring back materials in a timely fashion.

Blanche

On Fri, 25 Jan 2008, Owens, Shaunterria wrote:

> I have to say I disagree. One of our jobs is to teach children about
responsibility and how to navigate the "real" world. In the real world,
if someone damaged someone else's property or worse, stole someone
else's property, there would be consequences. If kids are allowed to
damage or keep books, what leverage do we have to get them to return the
books? A stern talking to?
>
> Shaunterria Owens
> Library Assistant, Del Rosa Elementary
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu on behalf of Blanche Woolls
> Sent: Fri 1/25/2008 11:45 AM
> To: Ron Black
> Cc: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu 
> Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] fines policy in your library
>
> Hello Ron,
>
> If you stop and think about it, fines are the number one worst
possible
> public relations activity that any school librarian can initiate.
Please
> stop charging fines. If it does anything at all, it allows students
to
> think that they can keep books indefinitely because they are
"renting"
> them.
>
> The library belongs to the students, not to the librarian. They are
> checking out their books and they need to be taught the
responsibility of
> using their books in a responsible way. You might want to lengthen
the
> length of time for checkout, although in elementary school, the books
are
> seldom that long. However, if a student isn't responsible, they need
to be
> reminded, but don't do it by withholding their ability to check out
a
> book. To do that you are halting their ability to increase their
reading
> skills and their ability to use materials for research.
>
> Truly, the best way to teach responsibility is to explain to all
your
> students that this is a jointly owned part of their education and
they
> must "Do unto others" which means bring books back on time. No
fines.
>
> Blanche
>
> On Fri, 25 Jan 2008, Ron Black wrote:
>
>> What's the fines policy in your district or at your school site?
>>
>> A question has come up in our K-8 district concerning students
being
>> allowed
>> to continue checking out books after they've been fined for lost or
>> damaged
>> materials. Up until now, our policy has been if they owe money,
they
>> can't
>> check out until they return the material in good condition or pay
the
>> fine for
>> it.
>>
>> However now some have looked at the California Ed Code and
interpreted
>> it
>> as reading that we cannot withhold textbooks OR library books from
a
>> student even though he or she has lost one or more and made no
effort
>> to pay or work off his or her fine.
>>
>> While we can understand every student needing a textbook no matter
>> what,
>> some of our library technicians are understandably alarmed that we
are
>> soon
>> going to be expected to allow students to check out library books
at
>> all times,
>> no matter how many books they have lost and not paid for, and never
>> having
>> to show any responsibility for damaged or lost materials.
>>
>> So, we're checking on what the policies are in other school
libraries.
>> Any info you can pass on to us would be appreciated. Thanks!
>>
>> Ronald L. Black
>> rblack at eusd4kids.org 
>> Central School Library
>> Escondido Union School District
>>
>
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