When it comes to user fees, the best approach is a strong reliance on common sense. The Columbian has often editorialized in favor of user fees (bridge tolls, for example), but we also know that in some cases such as police and fire protection and K-12 education, it’s just not practical to make users pay for most or all of the services.
But what about “over-user” fees? That’s the best way to describe fines for overdue library books. If you return a library item after it’s due, you’ve broken your commitment and for that, a small fine is just common sense. But for years that has not been the case in the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. Unlike many libraries elsewhere, the 13-branch library system in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties and the city of Woodland in Cowlitz County has let patrons return overdue items with no penalty. Ultimately, a collection agency is called in, but even then the library district makes no money.
But this victimize-us-please policy might come to an end. The new downtown library that’s scheduled to open this summer will have new equipment for electronic billing and payment. It would eliminate much of the administrative work needed to collect fines for overdue library items. The FVRL board remains undecided on the matter but is scheduled to discuss it during a retreat on April 11-12.
We’ll give credit to the friendly FVRL folks for bending over backward in the customer service area, but common sense tells us that, if you let people take advantage of you, word gets around. And then other people will take advantage of you. And then among the rules-followers, many of your most faithful library patrons get frustrated, wondering how many of the items they can’t find are overdue at no risk of penalty to any violator.
Set aside for a moment the two issues of customer service and punishing violators and focus on this basic reality: This is just not a very efficient way to run a library district. From the simple perspective of inventory churn, the desired turnover of products available to the public gets ground down to a slower, inefficient pace.
That’s why we hope FVRL takes another look at fines for overdue items. It doesn’t have to be a big fine, and there can be all kinds of warnings and perhaps even some kind of amnesty week. But don’t continue to let violators take advantage of the taxpayer- and patron-supported public libraries.
We say “another look” because — also to their credit — FVRL officials have examined this issue several times. Two years ago the library district had a Portland public relations firm conduct an online survey of 4,000 FVRL patrons and found that 44 percent supported late fees for overdue items and 41 percent were opposed. The library folks also know that 26.6 percent of items checked out at one point that year were overdue (past the 21-day checkout period), while much lower delinquency rates were reported at Oregon’s Clackamas County library system (5.8 percent) and the Kitsap Regional Library (4.4 percent).
Would some people get mad if FVRL started collecting fines for overdue books? That’s for sure, but with an extensive advance public awareness campaign, they will have had fair warning. Would some people support a system of fines? That’s for sure, too, because they will know that the best care is being taken of library property, and more items will be available more often.
Finally, there’s the bottom line we often present in editorials about laws and rules: If you don’t like paying a library fine, bring your stuff back on time. And if circumstances prevent your full compliance, well, just consider a small fine to be a fairly enforced over-user fee, perhaps your contribution to the public library district. Other library users will appreciate your donation.
