A reminder of our (no) fines policy

Hello from the front desk!  Despite the snow days, the semester is now in full swing and the books, DVD’s, Kindles, extension cords, laptop chargers, and more are quickly moving back and forth across the front desk – from us to you and back again.  So I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of our fine policy.

Our fine policy is simple: with a few exceptions, there are no overdue fines.  And these aren’t wide-ranging exceptions that basically include everything – nothing like “no fines except on days that end in ‘y'”.  When we say “no fines”, we mean it!

Having said that, the exceptions are as follows:

• items from the media center: if it comes from the third floor of the library where Ken, Linda, Raven, and Andy work, it’s subject to overdue fines.
• course reserves: if it’s on course reserve at the front desk (three hour, overnight, or three day loan) – it’s subject to overdue fines.  This doesn’t apply to e-reserves, only to physical items you check out at the front desk.
• recalled items: it doesn’t happen too often, but every once in a while you’ll get a “recall notice” email.  That’s letting you know that someone else wants to use the item.  Read that email closely because it gives you a new due date.  If you turn it in late, you’ll get fined.
• USMAI/ILLiad items: if you borrow something from another library, either through USMAI or ILLiad, you’ll get fined if it’s late.  The amount varies depending on the library that owns the item.

So if none of the above applies, then you won’t be fined for returning it late.  Now, if you NEVER return it, you will eventually get billed for it.  But if it’s a day or a week late – nothing.

The reason for this policy is simple.  We want you to borrow all the items you need, for research, fun, etc, without worrying about anything except whether you want or need it.  And not to sound “braggy” but we’ve got a lot of stuff!  Almost 200,000 books, mostly academic but many popular titles as well, (and several thousand more ebooks), nearly 3,000 DVD’s, six Kindles pre-loaded with about 40 bestsellers, scores of equipment such as Mac chargers, extension cords, headphones, flash drives, etc.  So if it’ll make your life easier, or better, go for it!  We’re open until 1:00 AM Sunday – Wednesday, midnight on Thursday, and 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, so there’s plenty of opportunity for you to stop by.

Happy librarying!