uni library - fines

DrFluffy

aqueoushumour01 wrote: »

make sure you pay those fines

http://newsguru.newsvine.com/_news/2008/08/22/1773431-wisconsin-woman-jailed-over-unpaid-library-fines

Thankfully, we are not in the United States of Crazy

bestpud

The_One_Who wrote: »

My uni send out letter reminders as well as e-mails if a book has been recalled. If the book is just due back then getting it checked out on the counter will mean it gets stamped, or using the self-service machines will give you a receipt telling you when it's due back. I heard someone trying to get their fines reduced/scrapped and they were simply told that the library wouldn't do it. That as a responsible adult they are expected to know when the book is due back and be able to return it on time. Maybe that member of staff was just having a bad day.

Yes, I've always thought of it as a good will gesture as much as anything tbh.

But then at my uni we don't get the reurn date stamped in the book and so if done over the counter, the student has to rely on the emails, or logging in, to see whan they are due iyswim? Before they changed the whole system, this wasn't as easy as it sounds because you could have 12 books all due back at different times.

It's all done by machine now so we have a ticket and I also tend to renew any existing loans at the same time as taking out new ones, as it keeps them all the same date. Can't do that in a library with several loan types though!

I think a lot of these things come down to the person you get and how often the student has incurred fines etc - and probably how polite you are as well.

talkhard

I agree with Bestpud. It does depend on who you get and how polite you are. Library assistants are usually more than happy to help you out and if you've got a real reason for not having your books back on time, they reduce or remove the fine.

I've paid hundreds in fines over the years but its my own fault for being lazy and forgetting to renew them. I've been to both Uni libraries where they do not stamp and give a receipt and also where they are still stamping and there is no perfect system really.

The only thing that has been useful in the current one is the email reminders they send out. Immediately after your books are overdue they email to tell you. Alright, this is closing the door after the horse has bolted but at least its an attempt to minimise the cost. Maybe suggest this to your library, OP.

Mike1989

At uni I've had one fine to pay but it was about 30p for one day late and that was because I didn't check my emails that day. As we get reminders on emails about them and I generally renew them there and then online. But that time I didn't and that was my only fine since high school.

But there was a book I took out for my sister who was doing her post graduate thing. The book was on restricted loan and had 24 hours or so. I took it out on Friday and it was due back the next day. She got what she wanted. But I noticed that the fine for that was £1 per hour!

Seriously imagine forgetting to renew that or getting the day wrong. You could get a hefty fine on them lol

MrsManda

Limited numbers of books mean people need to stick to their loan lengths. Most university systems allow you to renew books online providing they've not been request by someone else and will let you know if that is the case when you attempt to renew.
My uni charges 30p a day on normal books, 50p on short loans and £1 an hour on books which are in such high demand you can only borrow them for 3 hours.
Books are expensive, there are alot of people who need them, and you are at university, not school so they expect you to be grown up enough to not need chasing every five minutes. Your local library doesn't send you a note saying you have 24 hours to return a book so why should a uni library?
If you're bothered about that then stay and use the book in the library.

The_One_Who

Even if you use a book in the library, then please do check it out. Otherwise it will show in the system as still being on the shelf so other students will spend their time looking for it. They might even ask a member of staff if it is in the library, and so they will look for it too.

CloudRuler

I don't think those charges are expensive. As an undergrad I can borrow a total of 15 books, short loan books are limited to a maximum of 3. Normal loan books can be taken for 3 weeks by undergrads.

Normal loan - 25p per day
7 day loan - 50p per day
Short loan (24hrs) - £1 per hour or part of an hour
Recalled - 50p per day

As for you having to pay £15, isn't your library catalogue available online so you can check the bookings on your card? Having said that dont you get a receipt when you take the book out which says what time it's due back? If I want to take out a 24hr loan book and it's due back before the 24hrs are up, the library staff always let me know.

I don't agree with The One Who that you should check out a book when you're using it in the library. It can be a little annoying when you spend a few minutes looking for a book that isn't there but checking them out to use in the library seems a waste of time for the person using it. It doesn't take much time for someone to check where the book usually is, the trolley on that floor and ask staff if they feel they need to. When you only have an hour or two hours free and it takes 5-10 minutes to get from class to the library each time, then another 5-10 minutes to get the book, get down to the ground floor, get the book checked out and get back to the floor you were on, that means at best it has taken 15 minutes and at worst 30 minutes out of the time you have before your next class. Granted it's only an extra 5-10 minutes but when you only have an hour or two hours before the next class and you really need the book, you need all the time you can get. God forbid you then need to look at another book too and take another 5-10 minutes out of your time if you didn't think you'd need it when you took the first one. I don't see why those who get their hands on the book first should waste time doing that when they could be using the book whereas the person who isn't going to find the book because the other individual has it can afford to spare a few minutes.

bestpud

CloudRuler wrote: »

I don't agree with The One Who that you should check out a book when you're using it in the library. It can be a little annoying when you spend a few minutes looking for a book that isn't there but checking them out to use in the library seems a waste of time for the person using it. It doesn't take much time for someone to check where the book usually is, the trolley on that floor and ask staff if they feel they need to. When you only have an hour or two hours free and it takes 5-10 minutes to get from class to the library each time, then another 5-10 minutes to get the book, get down to the ground floor, get the book checked out and get back to the floor you were on, that means at best it has taken 15 minutes and at worst 30 minutes out of the time you have before your next class. Granted it's only an extra 5-10 minutes but when you only have an hour or two hours before the next class and you really need the book, you need all the time you can get. God forbid you then need to look at another book too and take another 5-10 minutes out of your time if you didn't think you'd need it when you took the first one. I don't see why those who get their hands on the book first should waste time doing that when they could be using the book whereas the person who isn't going to find the book because the other individual has it can afford to spare a few minutes.

I must admit I wouldn't check out a book I was just going to use in the library either.

If I want a book and it is showing as in I just check the trolleys and/or have a gander where people are studying, as they will usually keep them on the desk and you can see if they have the book you want. If I really wanted it I would ask them if they intedn to take it out and if not I would just come back later and check again.

On the other hand, if it showed as out, I would either rule it out or come back another day, which seems a waste if it could be back on the shelf five minutes later, iyswim?

Loz01

At my Uni if we borrow a 24 hr only loan book and its late its 60p an hour until you return it!! Which could get expensive, esp cause the overnight hours are counted, even though the librarys actually shut.

The_One_Who

CloudRuler wrote: »

I don't agree with The One Who that you should check out a book when you're using it in the library. It can be a little annoying when you spend a few minutes looking for a book that isn't there but checking them out to use in the library seems a waste of time for the person using it. It doesn't take much time for someone to check where the book usually is, the trolley on that floor and ask staff if they feel they need to. When you only have an hour or two hours free and it takes 5-10 minutes to get from class to the library each time, then another 5-10 minutes to get the book, get down to the ground floor, get the book checked out and get back to the floor you were on, that means at best it has taken 15 minutes and at worst 30 minutes out of the time you have before your next class. Granted it's only an extra 5-10 minutes but when you only have an hour or two hours before the next class and you really need the book, you need all the time you can get. God forbid you then need to look at another book too and take another 5-10 minutes out of your time if you didn't think you'd need it when you took the first one. I don't see why those who get their hands on the book first should waste time doing that when they could be using the book whereas the person who isn't going to find the book because the other individual has it can afford to spare a few minutes.

Short loan, or 24 hour or 4 hour loans should be checked out, even if only in use in the library. That is my personal view. These are the most wanted books and those which people want more urgently. If it was a book in the main catalogue then they can place a hold on it.

Thankfully at my university you do need to check out short loan books before removing them from the section, but it doesn't stop you from using the book within the section.

It's just my opinion, but I do think short loan books should be checked out even if they are only getting used in the library. Main library books can be kept without checking out, and if someone needs one then they can check back later or the next day. The chances the book won't be a core text or be urgently needed, so waiting a day won't hurt.