ACT Library Fines?

Catty said :

No, they won’t come after you. But the “fee” will stay there until it is paid off in full, and you will not be able to borrow anything or use the library facilities until that time.

This is an admin fee, people, not a fine for returning a late book. If the book does not come back you get slugged for the cost of the book as well. It does NOT reflect the cost of the minimal effort required to generate this notice.There MIGHT be a quick check of the shelves to make sure it’s not there, but given that it could be in any of the branches, it’s likely that they rely on the computer system to simply generate the notice. Costs a few dollars at most.

It is obviously meant to be punitive. However, the statement on the library’s website says it wants to encourage people into the library. But slugging people $200, even though the item is returned, will have the opposite effect. I spend a lot of time in the library, and have heard many people say that they will not be borrowing any more books, as the risk is too great that an item will get overlooked and they will be charged (even the $25 is excessive). It is parents with children who most often say this. Given that libraries feel they are in danger of losing patronage, this seems like the perfect way to ensure it.

Or maybe that is the agenda. Didn’t I hear that there is a review coming up?

Fee = good Fine = bad
If you die, do they send a claim for the outstanding fine/fee to your estate executor?

No, they won’t come after you. But the “fee” will stay there until it is paid off in full, and you will not be able to borrow anything or use the library facilities until that time.

This is an admin fee, people, not a fine for returning a late book. If the book does not come back you get slugged for the cost of the book as well. It does NOT reflect the cost of the minimal effort required to generate this notice.There MIGHT be a quick check of the shelves to make sure it’s not there, but given that it could be in any of the branches, it’s likely that they rely on the computer system to simply generate the notice. Costs a few dollars at most.

It is obviously meant to be punitive. However, the statement on the library’s website says it wants to encourage people into the library. But slugging people $200, even though the item is returned, will have the opposite effect. I spend a lot of time in the library, and have heard many people say that they will not be borrowing any more books, as the risk is too great that an item will get overlooked and they will be charged (even the $25 is excessive). It is parents with children who most often say this. Given that libraries feel they are in danger of losing patronage, this seems like the perfect way to ensure it.

Or maybe that is the agenda. Didn’t I hear that there is a review coming up?

For everyone’s reference, I actually returned the items well before they were replaced and wasn’t charged for the replacement. The $175 admin fee still applies even if they never had to replace the books.

I think charging an administrative fee is fair if it will discourage people from being careless with library books – unless it’s stolen or there are other exceptional circumstances it’s somewhat poor form to lose something that isn’t yours. Replacing the book does take time, and an admin fee to cover that part of the process seems fair. That said, I can’t imagine that a $200 fee can possibly be justified by those tasks (even taking into account the drama of dealing with the sticky-clear-plastic stuff that they cover the books with, which in my experience is horrible to try to use). As for the “the cost of staff time to … conduct shelving audits to ensure accuracy of collection data”: isn’t that a normal part of running a library and not something specifically related to late or lost books?

Stevian said :

Masquara said :

Immediately start going in and paying off the fine with a $2 coin every fortnight (preferably at a different library each time, to add to their bureaucratic load). Surely they can’t suspend borrowing rights while you are paying it off in good faith? You should get considerable schadenfreude from the fact that four years of processing your micropayments will cost them way, way more than the $200. Keep all the $2 receipts over the four years it will take to pay off the fine, keep us posted on Riotact, and consider donating the receipts to the ACT Heritage Library in due course as an historical example of ACT Government excess …

They have rules against you being a dick as well.

Let me guess…. it’s a $300 admin fee?

magiccar9 said :

the price of the fine shouldn’t exceed the cost of replacing the item (plus maybe a tiny amount extra).

Rubbish, it’s a punitive action and an arbitrary figure – whatever they feel convinces you to return your books on time. Perhaps making the amount smaller would make it less likely for people to pay it?

Also sad to see here is the expectation that government debts can be paid off however one feels like (EG $2 a week) Sounds like someone who spends too much time arguing with Centrelink and not enough time on domestic budgetting….

Masquara said :

Immediately start going in and paying off the fine with a $2 coin every fortnight (preferably at a different library each time, to add to their bureaucratic load). Surely they can’t suspend borrowing rights while you are paying it off in good faith? You should get considerable schadenfreude from the fact that four years of processing your micropayments will cost them way, way more than the $200. Keep all the $2 receipts over the four years it will take to pay off the fine, keep us posted on Riotact, and consider donating the receipts to the ACT Heritage Library in due course as an historical example of ACT Government excess …

They have rules against you being a dick as well.

magiccar9 said :

I’d ask to see evidence justifying the cost. Ask for proof that a staff member was actually required to do those tasks and a breakdown of all costs involved – eg, hours spent auditing x amount paid per hour and the number of fines issued from that particular audit.
Surely unless we’re living in the previous century the invoicing process should be automated (it’s not as if someone is sitting there typing each individual letter anymore).
As previously stated, the price of the fine shouldn’t exceed the cost of replacing the item (plus maybe a tiny amount extra).

Yeah I do that in Woolworths all the time. or at least I tell people on the internet they should do it. Same thing.

I got the same a few months ago. I brought a stack of (admittedly already a bit overdue) books back when I was in the middle of moving house and didn’t realise that I had missed two that ended up in my packing boxes. Next thing I get a letter advising me of a $175 fee. The cost of the 2 books was about $20. I sent off a fee waiver form and no one got back to me…

I do get the email and SMS notifications (great service) but if you accidentally miss a book when you return them, that doesn’t help as they don’t send out an update. Of course I should’ve used the email to tick off the books as I put them in the shoot – which is what I always do now, but it was a stressful time and my brain wasn’t working all that well.

I would accept that I made an error and just pay the bloody fee if it wasn’t so exorbitant… And them calling it an admin fee really does pee me off too. How long does it take to order a couple of new books and click a few buttons in the admin system? I didn’t think librarians were paid quite that much…

I’d ask to see evidence justifying the cost. Ask for proof that a staff member was actually required to do those tasks and a breakdown of all costs involved – eg, hours spent auditing x amount paid per hour and the number of fines issued from that particular audit.
Surely unless we’re living in the previous century the invoicing process should be automated (it’s not as if someone is sitting there typing each individual letter anymore).
As previously stated, the price of the fine shouldn’t exceed the cost of replacing the item (plus maybe a tiny amount extra).