[CALIBK12] Lost book fines?

[Stella Bloom]

When a student denies ever having checked a book out,
I  look up the title in the catalog, flip the monitor
around and show them the picture of the cover. 
Sometimes they recognize it then.  If the catalog info
has no picture, I read the description.  This can help
too.

In a few rare cases a student may truly have not
checked out the book.  Here is how it can happen: 
Before I arrived, students were in the habit of typing
in their number and scanning their own book even if I
wasn't at the counter.  I have trained students not to
do this, but it is ingrained and may still happen
occasionally.  Therefore, I am very careful to clear
the computer screen after each patron transaction, so
that if a student comes up, mistypes their number and
then scans their book, it will not end up on another
student's account.

I believe my school has a document on school-wide
policies that parents sign at the beginning of the
year, and somewhere in it is language stating that
parents are responsible for lost books checked out by
their children.  Perhaps your school does something
similar, and you can mention this when parents are
unwilling to pay for a lost book.

Stella Bloom
School Library Technician
Mission Middle School
Escondido Union School District




--- Janie Scott <janiescott at san.rr.com> wrote:

> Ok all,
>  
> I have a number of parents who say "the book is
> lost" or "my child never
> checked that out"  and are not willing to pay for
> it.  Do any of you have
> similar situations and how do you handle it?  I am
> working on an acceptable
> use policy for our library next year and could put
> this in it, but can't
> phrase it diplomatically right now (due to my fury
> about this!).  Do any of
> you have copies of a policy you would share? We are
> a K-6 private school
> expanding to 8th in the next two years. 
>  
> Thanks in advance for any help.
>  
> Janie Scott
>  
>  
> Janie Scott, Librarian
> The Children's School 
> 2225 Torrey Pines Lane
> La Jolla Ca 92037
> (858) 454-0184 ext. 125
> jscott at tcslj.org
>  
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