NC PL Gets Tough on Overdue Books
Staff -- Library Journal, 1/11/1999
The Granville County Library, Oxford, NC, is the latest to consider legal action against patrons with long-overdue books. Although it is a felony to hold books valued at $50 or more beyond their due date, the library has never attempted to enforce the law. If adopted, the new get-tough policy would have officers from the local sheriff's department literally knocking on doors and either demanding the book or payment for it. The library's action comes after an amnesty held last month for patrons to return overdue books without penalty that yielded only the return of a few dozen items. Even if the board votes against the policy, County Librarian Louise Dorton told LJ Digital the library "will work with the district attorney and see if we can't do something about getting the books returned." She valued the overdue books in 1997 at about $10,000 -- $12,000. "I think people just got the idea that nothing was going to happen to them," Dorton said. However, after a newspaper article outlined the plan, the library began receiving calls from patrons wanting to return their overdue books. "The article did more good than our whole month of amnesty," Dorton said. "Maybe it just takes some scare tactics now and then."
