The Woes of Overdues

We are rapidly approaching the end of the school year, so my attention must turn to those nasty overdue notices. Since we have summer school using this LMC soon after the year's end, it is important to get as many books returned as possible now. Towards that end, we have begun being more vigilant about student overdue books.

1. Any student with an overdue book will be allowed to check out only one additional book for reading until the overdue material is returned.


2. Students who have had materials overdue for more than 2 months will be receiving a letter requesting payment for the material. (We will accept a replacement copy provided it is the same title and in good condition.) No check outs (other than those required for class) will be allowed until the material is either returned or paid for.


3. Overdue notices are being printed on a weekly basis -- every Day 4. Ask your child if he or she has received an overdue note on that day.

Inevitably, someone will claim that they returned the material already or that they never checked it out. Errors do occur, especially when we have multiple people running the circulation desk, so we ask students to check their classroom shelves and at home again. In return, we will check the shelves for the missing material to make sure it has not been re-shelved without being checked in.

If this doesn't solve the dispute, things can get difficult. It is a very rare occurrence that a material gets checked out to the wrong person, so we will often let the overdue ride until the inventory has been completed. Letters and overdue notices will continue to be sent, however, as we struggle to come to some acceptable solution.

There are some parents who become agitated when letters are sent home, and I guess that is understandable; however, trying to retrieve lost or missing materials is simply part of the job. It is not a personal action against anyone and is not intended to be punitive. Those who cannot pay for a replacement can call the LMC and make some other arrangements. The main idea is to teach our students to be responsible for what they borrow. That's a priceless lesson to learn.

Sometimes, the Answer is No

I have two books that students have been requesting lately -- Twilight and A Child Named It. Usually, when I get a title that is frequently requested, I add that title to my purchasing list. It really helps students have ownership in their LMC if they also have some input into what is purchased for it. In the case of these two books, however, my answer has been, "No, I don't have that title. You will have to either get it from the public library or wait until middle school to check that out."

I worry about that answer. The rebel reader part of me remembers sneaking into the Junior Fiction section of the public library because I was tired of the books in the Children's Room, and so I tend to buy series that are popular and not pay a lot of attention to the recommended age groups. The manager of public funds part of me, however, is very aware of my responsibility to the taxpayers (i.e. parents) that entrust the selection of the books to me. It is my job to get kids interested in reading, but does that mean reading anything? I do have to consider literary quality and appropriate language and topics when I select materials, and I do have to work with a limited amount of funds.

This is a dilemma that I think all school librarians face. I do my best to be as liberal as I possibly can, but I cannot simply buy anything and everything. Am I being a censor by not purchasing these? I don't think so. I have read them both and would recommend them to students who are middle school or older. If parents get them for their younger students, I have no issue with that, so I am not (I think) trying to promote my personal beliefs. As much as it goes against my nature, sometimes, I guess, the answer to a request is, "No."