DH made fun of me last night because I felt I HAD to finish the book I was reading because it was due back today. I couldnt renew it because there were others that had requested it. I feel that I needed to finish it rather than keep it longer and pay the ( gasp) late fee of .10 per day! I say it isnt right to keep a book longer than the 3 week time frame they and DH said thats why they have fines...just finish it when you want and pay the fine. I had 4 books come in the same time and thats why I took the full time with it.
If I'm close to finishing, it doesn't bother me to keep something an extra day or two. My library is awesome and generally has a gazillion copies of popular books, so it's not like I have someone's only chance on a book. But I agree with your DH too in that that's why libraries have a system for fines.
My library has pretty generous renewal times, so if I can renew it I can probably finish it. If I can't renew it because somebody else wants it, I might keep it for a day or two if I have to but I try to return it close to on time. For newer/popular books the wait times can be insane (just for reference there are 1077 holds on 289 copies of Where'd You Go Bernadette?), so I try to not hold things up.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Mark Twain
I try not to hang on to books with wait lists just because I get antsy when I'm on the other side, but I wouldn't side-eye an extra day or two. If you kept it for 3 more weeks when there were 25 people waiting I'd be annoyed.
It depends. If I just need it one more day, I'll hang on to it. If I need more than that I'll let it go back and catch it later, provided I can't just renew it.
Post by dorothyinAus on Apr 16, 2013 19:06:37 GMT -5
If there is a huge demand, I think one day to finish it is not a bad thing, but any longer than two business days and I would return it and sign up on the request list and finish it when it came around again.
See this is why I don't do libraries anymore. I would have like five holds come in at once and already have a book at home going and I would struggle with returning the book(s) on time or keeping it for an extra day. I always ended up buying the book at B&N or Amazon to finish it or to have my own copy if I loved the book. It just became pointless to use the library when I would end up buying them anyway.
What I'm saying is, if you only need an extra day or two, then just finish it. It sucks for the people waiting but I always saw it as a risk I took.
My question, and something I used to debate with people: If a book has holds, do you keep the book for your full loan time or do you return them the day or day after you finish? I always returned ones with holds on the day or morning after finishing, but some people I know would hang onto it until they absolutely had to take it back.
I give it back. This is why I never request more than 3 books at a time, because inevitably everything that I was waiting for will be available at the same time. I can't handle more that 1 book a week right now. I don't feel guilty about keeping books for the full 3 weeks though.
My question, and something I used to debate with people: If a book has holds, do you keep the book for your full loan time or do you return them the day or day after you finish? I always returned ones with holds on the day or morning after finishing, but some people I know would hang onto it until they absolutely had to take it back.
I go to the library at least weekly, so when I finish a book, it goes in the library bag and I return it on my next trip. I don't make a special trip, but I don't keep it the full time, either.
I have to drive by the library to go to work so I will always return a book when I finish it. It takes less than one minute to pull in the parking lot and put it in the night drop ( I go by at 6:45 am) and then be on my way.
If I know someone else has a hold on it, I will usually read that book first. I might keep it an extra day if I have to but I try to be respectful of people on the hold list. I have been waiting for books several times and the person who had them didn't return them on time so I know how frustrating it was for me.
I return them on time, no matter what. And if I finish a book early and know that someone after me has a hold on it, I'll return it as soon as I can (without making a special trip).
I'm an academic librarian and while it's different here (research needs with deadlines), I know how much difference a day or two can sometimes make to someone waiting. When I borrow books from the public library, I never know if the next person in line is leaving on a business trip that evening and would love to have that to take with them, or if they're going in for chemo in the morning and need something to read, etc.
If I know someone else has a hold on it, I will usually read that book first. I might keep it an extra day if I have to but I try to be respectful of people on the hold list. I have been waiting for books several times and the person who had them didn't return them on time so I know how frustrating it was for me.
This is what I was thinking. If I know there are a lot of holds then I feel bad hanging onto it and felt the need to take it back the next day. I'd work it into any errands I already had though.
My question, and something I used to debate with people: If a book has holds, do you keep the book for your full loan time or do you return them the day or day after you finish? I always returned ones with holds on the day or morning after finishing, but some people I know would hang onto it until they absolutely had to take it back.
I go to the library at least weekly, so when I finish a book, it goes in the library bag and I return it on my next trip. I don't make a special trip, but I don't keep it the full time, either.
This is exactly what I do. I take the kids to storytime at the library once a week so I just take any finished books back on my next trip. The library is a good 30 minute drive from my house so I don't make any unnecessary trips.
lol, yeah I do the same thing. Late fees here are .50 cents a day though. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it can add up pretty quickly!
Post by daydreamer on Apr 18, 2013 15:47:39 GMT -5
I keep them. Sometimes for up to a week especially if the list is long. I figure if someone is willing to wait on a long list rather than buy the book, they aren't in any hurry. That said, I do prioritize the reading of books I can't renew.
Our hold fee is $0.75 and our late fee is $0.25/day.