[ISLMA-Share] Need Help! Overdue Book Policies and Fees Charged

[Email list for the Illinois School Library Media Association]

Hello!  I need your help!!  I'd love to hear what your circulation polices
are, and your rational for what you believe is reasonable with regard to
student circulation.

Our current policy for PreK - 8 circulation is:

PreK-2 -- 1 book/1week
3-5 -- 2 books/2 weeks
6-8 -- 3 books/2 weeks

   - Email reminders go out to parents the night before library class.
   - Overdue notices go out once a week indicating the number of days the
   book is overdue, i.e., Friendly Reminder -- Your book is 14-21 days overdue.
   - When a book is overdue, check-out privileges are suspended until the
   book is returned or replaced.
   - After 30 days we consider the book lost and charges or replacement are
   attached to the account.
   - Book check-out resumes after the account is settled.
   - We do not charge daily late fees.

The policy is clearly stated in our community handbook but a parent is
complaining that this policy is unreasonable and saying her child should be
able to continue to check-out books even if they have an overdue book
because she loves reading so much.  (You guessed it -- this is a parent
whose child is chronically overdue and has lost numerous books over the
last three years.)

I need to meet with admin this week about this complaint, and am looking
for information about what other schools do.  I'd love to hear what your
policy is and for what grades it applies.  My pedagogical reasoning is that
the policy helps teach responsibility, encourages executive functioning,
prepares children for the real world, and teaches children to share in the
context of a community.  Also, it is my fiscal responsibility to protect
the integrity of the collection.

I'm a sole librarian.

Thank you for your expertise!

If you want to email me off list, my email address is:
kfisher at bakerdemschool.org.


Peace,


*Karrie Fisher*
Library Director &
Photography Teacher

*"What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks
about education."  -- Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education*




*Baker Demonstration School*
201 Sheridan Road | Wilmette, Illinois 60091
t: 847-425-5800 | f: 847-425-5801


*Love to Learn, Cherish the Journey, Serve the World**
<http://bakerdemschool.org>
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<https://twitter.com/BakerDem>* <https://instagram.com/bakerdem/>
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