Quote:
Originally Posted by John F
Rescind the patrons' library cards?
Edit: As far as never returning an item, that could be considered theft, or breach of contract, or something else.
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Theft, yes. Which costs money and time to pursue. And then suddenly you have a child with a juvenile record. Or an adult with a theft charge that will follow them to every job application ever. Many libraries will allow you to report a book as lost, but you have to pay for it if that is the case.
Breach of contract is just the civil remedy, wherein you would sue the patron for more money.
A great deal of the responsibility instilled in me as a child with my first library card was that the fines had to come out of my piggy bank if I didn't get a book back on time. I think fines have their place, within reason.