Friday, March 26, 2010

A Fine Time at the Library

I love going to the library.  Unless I have a fine.  Or even think I might have a fine.  When I finally find the lost book that has caused the fine, I drop it in the outside return box instead of having to go inside and face that fine and the librarians who I assume are thinking the worst of me.  "You misplaced a library book?  For three weeks???  What kind of person are you?"  That's what I think they must be thinking.  So I avoid it.  Until my children manage to talk me into going to the library once again.  It takes all kinds of courage and feeding off of my children's excitement to get me up to that desk where I quietly say, "I have a fine I need to pay."  I'm afraid my face turns red every time.  It's rather prone to do that. 

Just yesterday we found one of those poor lost library books.  Thoughts of dread started filling my mind.  I kept pushing them out.  I know that it really is silly to dread the library and the librarians.  So, after taking Miss Bear to her afternoon Kindergarten class, Miss Monkey, Little Man and I went to the library.  I went right up to the desk and handed the book to the librarian who was smiling at me.  I told her the book had been missing and that I needed to pay the fine.  She said "OK" and kept smiling!  And I'm pretty sure my face did not turn red.  In less than a minute my fine was all gone and I was free of guilt.  I was excited to be in the library again!  The kids and I chose some new books and a couple of movies.  I talked to another librarian and asked if she could recommend any good books about the states for young children.  She couldn't think of anything but left a note for the reference librarian who would be in later.  Librarians are so neat! 

We checked out our books and dvd's, went home, and sat down to read.  It was great!  And this time I'm sure we won't lose any books.  I hope.

11 comments:

Chaney said...

We have a fine to pay at the library....and I've been avoiding it for about a month and a half. It's not that I'm opposed to paying the fine. I am seriously embarrased about it. The total fine is about 50 cents but I just can't do it. Maybe I'll send Stuart in with the money, especially since Phillip asks EVERY day to go to the library.

Cathie said...

I generally talk myself out of guilt by remembering they are probably using the fines to buy new books. Happy Reading!

Julie said...

I'm also in the camp that paying library fines is cheaper than buying books or renting DVDs. The Library is my favorite use of taxpayers' $$.

Judi said...

We can pay our fines online! I like that! Then I don't have to meet up with the circulation desk people. The librarians are great but for me it is the circulation desk people that scare me! We check out over 50 books each visit so if we are even a day late we have a huge fine! :)

Hannah said...

So far the only time we have had to pay fees is when I haven't finished with the book, or I want to read it again and forget to re-check it out online. And I'm with Cathie, I figure me keeping the books a little longer is a good thing. Consider it a tip jar, not a fine.

Sea Star said...

We have the best library. They don't charge fines for Children's items. This is so nice since I usually have about 50+ items at home at a time. I can't even image what the fines would be like if I had any overdue. I do have fines once in awhile on books I check out for me but I try really hard not to have that happen. I am never embarrassed about a fine. There are even weeks when I don't pay it because either I don't have a cash or I just don't want to. With the amount of books we check out and how frequently we are at the library it is amazing we don't have more fines or more lost books. That I will never do again. Lost library books are the worst!

nanajohanna said...

This whole story made me think of "All Of A Kind Family." Wasn't it in the first book that Sarah made herself sick over a lost book? I love that series so much. Do you have them?

Caroline said...

Next time you could always try the, "Oh? I have a fine to pay!? My goodness, I'm so sorry! Lemme get out my wallet. I can't believe I did that!" ;)

Glad you had a nice time at the library!

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

I would probably have a panic attack if I had a lost book. :)

My parents library is awesome, they have a huge grace period, so you can be 3 weeks overdue before a fine kicks in. Then its $3, and it doesn't go up, flat rate. I know that was a relief for my mom with the 6 of us and all our scattered books.

Elizabeth said...

As a person who formerly worked as a library circulation assistant, this makes me giggle. Scared of me? I will tell you that in the large library district I worked in, almost every patron had some kind of fine (there were no fines on kids' books and patrons could continue to check out with up to $10 in fines). No biggie and didn't even cause me to bat an eye.

My husband is a circulation department head and is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He does everything he can to make sure people have a good experience no matter the circumstance.

an encourager said...

You know, Aimee, I am a sub librarian of elementary schools and I have a fine at our public library almost every two weeks. I can't help it. What happens is that I check out more books than I can read (it's a sickness, because I sooo love books), forget to click online and renew them (and it's soooo simple!! it's beyond comprehension how I put that off lol), and then, have to go through the routine you do... putting it off, red face, etc. Until.... one day, I just came clean. I told that librarian that sees me each time I walk into my little library, "This is my way of supporting our library." :) From then on, I've been guilt free. Yay! Hey, thank you for the well-wishes for my daughter and her husband-to-be. Exciting!