I LOVE libraries. I love books. In fact, our home resembles a lending library. But after about ten years, my patience has been worn thin with this library.
You see, our kids have caught the love of books. They like to take out lots of them. But apparently someone over at the library doesn't like to "zap" the books before returning them to their shelves. As a result, almost EVERY time we take out books, we wind up with notices saying the books are exceptionally late or lost. Now I don't mind paying late fees. I like supporting libraries this way, but I don't like paying fees because of someone else's negligence.
Countless times I have gone to the library and pulled the books they claim I never returned right OFF THE SHELVES myself. Now I supposedly owe about $70 in late fees, and they don't seem to believe me, despite the fact that their own librarians witnessed this. One of them even told me that she KNOWS who it is who is neglecting to properly check the books back in and that I should walk the books in, make sure they are "zapped," and never use the book drop.
Sadly, it looks like we will just be visiting the library from now on and buying used books online. Funny thing is, the "late" books are not exactly hot commodities: kids' nonfiction books about kangaroos, planets, birds, etc. If libraries start pulling crap like this, they're going to wind up in even more trouble than they're in already.
One day I was waiting for the library to open so I could search the shelves for the books they claimed I had. Turned out another woman was waiting to do the exact same thing. I believe this problem is not ours alone. read more