RE: Ordinances for overdue materials

[Beth Fox]

This is a message from CTLS-L. Selecting "Reply" will send a message to the entire list. --------------------------------------------------------- Our policy says that the library "may" file a lawsuit and letters are sent only to people with more than $150 in unreturned books.  The "lawsuit" letter by itself is effective about half the time.  In the last 4 years we have filed 5 lawsuits in small claims courts and have not had a single one of these books returned.  There is a real cost to file - since we do not have an attorney on staff, we have to pay an individual; there are internal tracking issues and documentation; and we have to pay small claim court fees.  Bottom line from my point of view is that it is rarely worth the effort and the occasional bad pr resonates throughout the national news.  Beth -----Original Message----- From: cclib [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 9:07 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Ordinances for overdue materials This is a message from CTLS-L. Selecting "Reply" will send a message to the entire list. --------------------------------------------------------- This is for libraries whose governing authorities have passed an ordinance regarding overdue library materials:   1.  What is the penalty specified by your ordinance?   2.  Have you seen a significant decline in overdue items since this ordinance passed?  (If the answer is yes, please quantify it if possible).   3.  Have you had many cases reach the prosecution stage?   4.  How did your community react to the ordinance?  Did you lose borrowers?   5.  Is there anything you would change, or is there a "lesson learned" that you'd be willing to pass along?   Thanks for your help.   Peg Fleet --------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Include in body: unsubscribe ctls-l For information on CTLS-L please visit: http://www.ctls.net/document/ctls-l.htm --------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Include in body: unsubscribe ctls-l For information on CTLS-L please visit: http://www.ctls.net/document/ctls-l.htm