Materials Recovery/Fine Collection Options
Hi all, We're having a major issue at our library with unreturned materials and collecting fines from patrons. At the moment, we're just making phone calls and sending letters to patrons, which obviously aren't the most effective options at getting our books or our money back. Does anyone here recommend some relatively inexpensive solutions to this problem? Thank you for your time, Allison Ferguson Director Lyons Township District Library (989) 855-3414 lyonslib@hotmail.com
We here at Ferndale use Unique Management Services. A fair number of Library Network Libraries (the main cooperative in Oakland and Wayne Counties) use them, too. We've had good results and most of the work is done at Unique. We are charged a $7.50 fee for each record forwarded to them and we pass that fee along to each patron who is referred. They have a budget-neutral policy. On Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 12:26 PM, LTDL <lyonslib@hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
We're having a major issue at our library with unreturned materials and collecting fines from patrons. At the moment, we're just making phone calls and sending letters to patrons, which obviously aren't the most effective options at getting our books or our money back. Does anyone here recommend some relatively inexpensive solutions to this problem?
Thank you for your time,
Allison Ferguson
Director
Lyons Township District Library
(989) 855-3414
lyonslib@hotmail.com
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We, like many libraries, use Unique Management Systems (800) 879-5453. Unique is a collection agency that ONLY services libraries. They connect to your automation system so after you have gone through your standard notifications accounts over $25 automatically get turned over to Unique. You can pull an account at any time. We pay $9 for each account we turn over to the collection agency and we charge our delinquent customers $10 for the privilege of being turned over. Our increased return rates on long overdue materials is impressive and if we don't get the materials we get payment for those items more often than not. You can also turn over accounts where materials have been returned, but fines exceed $25. You set the levels at each step of the way and pull accounts out of collections at any point. On Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 12:26 PM, LTDL <lyonslib@hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
We're having a major issue at our library with unreturned materials and collecting fines from patrons. At the moment, we're just making phone calls and sending letters to patrons, which obviously aren't the most effective options at getting our books or our money back. Does anyone here recommend some relatively inexpensive solutions to this problem?
Thank you for your time,
Allison Ferguson
Director
Lyons Township District Library
(989) 855-3414
lyonslib@hotmail.com
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-- Christine Lind Hage, Library Director Rochester Hills Public Library 500 Olde Towne Road Rochester, MI 48307-2043 248/650-7122
We also use Unique and so do a number of libraries here in Macomb County (Suburban Library Coop). I only have good things to say about Unique. I was recently contacted by a former patron we had sent to collections over a year ago and who had moved out-of-state. Because we use Unique their account had been reported to the credit agencies and the patron needed their credit report cleaned up because they where applying for some type of government job. I suddenly received a check for lost items and fines that I thought I would never see. Annette M. Goike Assistant Director MacDonald Public Library 36480 Main St New Baltimore, MI 48047 586-725-0273 On 02/13/2014 1:03 pm, Christine Hage wrote:
We, like many libraries, use Unique Management Systems (800) 879-5453. Unique is a collection agency that ONLY services libraries. They connect to your automation system so after you have gone through your standard notifications accounts over $25 automatically get turned over to Unique. You can pull an account at any time. We pay $9 for each account we turn over to the collection agency and we charge our delinquent customers $10 for the privilege of being turned over. Our increased return rates on long overdue materials is impressive and if we don't get the materials we get payment for those items more often than not. You can also turn over accounts where materials have been returned, but fines exceed $25. You set the levels at each step of the way and pull accounts out of collections at any point.
On Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 12:26 PM, LTDL <lyonslib@hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
We're having a major issue at our library with unreturned materials and collecting fines from patrons. At the moment, we're just making phone calls and sending letters to patrons, which obviously aren't the most effective options at getting our books or our money back. Does anyone here recommend some relatively inexpensive solutions to this problem?
Thank you for your time,
Allison Ferguson
Director
Lyons Township District Library
(989) 855-3414 [1]
lyonslib@hotmail.com _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list Michlib-l@lists.mcls.org http://lists.mlcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l [2]
--
Christine Lind Hage, Library Director Rochester Hills Public Library 500 Olde Towne Road Rochester, MI 48307-2043 248/650-7122
Links: ------ [1] tel:%28989%29%20855-3414 [2] http://lists.mlcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l
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Hello! Let me preempt my response by saying my questions/suggestions are mostly preventative measures. First, the questions. What type of item limit do you have in place right now? For example, we offer unlimited book check-outs, but only 10 total DVDs (including up to 2 Blu-rays) and one video game at a time, per card. Those were our high-demand, kind of "in danger of being pawned" items. Also, at what amount of fines do you stop your patrons from being able to check-out any more items? For example, we stop our patrons at a total fine/fee of $5.00. However, if they pay it down below that limit (even $4.99), they are free to check-out more items. However, we only charge $0.10/day per item in overdue fines, regardless of format, with a per item cap of $3.00. We find that with our community, higher fines discouraged late returns because the totals were too overwhelming. Side note: our items go to "Billed" status at 30 days. If they're returned in good condition, we check them in and they revert to "overdue." It may be that if you don't have these policies in place, or if your item limit or fine limit is higher, it may be time to change them, very publicly and openly, with a strong patron education element. Big signs that say something to the effect of: "Due to a significant rise in items not being returned, we are changing our circulation policy in the following ways:.... We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but feel that this new policy is in keeping with our desire to be good stewards of your tax dollars." My last suggestions is that during the month of December, we offer a "Food for Fines" program. During the entire month, we accept shelf-stable canned/boxed/bottled items in lieu of payment on fines at 1 item per fine line item (could be anything from $0.10 to $3.00). All the food is donated to the local food pantry, which is great publicity for us and helps the community as a whole. We see a big rise in patrons bringing back overdue/billed items along with food items, hoping to return them and pay them off at the same time. Hope this helps. Good luck! For more information, please call 517-629-3993 or visit us at 501 S. Superior Street in downtown Albion. Albion District Library: Transforming Minds, Changing Lives. Online at www.albionlibrary.org, or find us on Facebook! Cynthia Stanczak Adult & Teen Services Librarian Albion District Library 501 S. Superior St. Albion, MI 49224 (517) 629-3993 On Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 12:26 PM, LTDL <lyonslib@hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
We're having a major issue at our library with unreturned materials and collecting fines from patrons. At the moment, we're just making phone calls and sending letters to patrons, which obviously aren't the most effective options at getting our books or our money back. Does anyone here recommend some relatively inexpensive solutions to this problem?
Thank you for your time,
Allison Ferguson
Director
Lyons Township District Library
(989) 855-3414
lyonslib@hotmail.com
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participants (5)
-
Christine Hage -
goikea＠libcoop.net -
Kelly Bennett -
LTDL -
Stanczak, Cindy