I've been seeing this graffiti tag everywhere lately. I don't know whose it is but they've been busy.
Thanks for the feedback on the kid with the long-overdue book mentioned in yesterday's post. Some of you suggested contacting the parents. Believe me, I'm well past that. They've been part of the conversation since December at least, as has the student's homeroom advisor. The parents have said they'll help but I suspect they're (quite reasonably) trying to get the kid to do the right thing on his own, as opposed to solving his problems for him.
Oh, and some of you asked about fines. We don't charge fines for overdue books -- only for lost ones. This is not unusual. Many, many libraries have done away with late fees because they're a pain to administer and the theory is that they scare people away from using the library. There are other ways to leverage the return of materials, particularly in a school environment, like disciplinary measures.
Thanks for the feedback on the kid with the long-overdue book mentioned in yesterday's post. Some of you suggested contacting the parents. Believe me, I'm well past that. They've been part of the conversation since December at least, as has the student's homeroom advisor. The parents have said they'll help but I suspect they're (quite reasonably) trying to get the kid to do the right thing on his own, as opposed to solving his problems for him.
Oh, and some of you asked about fines. We don't charge fines for overdue books -- only for lost ones. This is not unusual. Many, many libraries have done away with late fees because they're a pain to administer and the theory is that they scare people away from using the library. There are other ways to leverage the return of materials, particularly in a school environment, like disciplinary measures.
You know, one of the things I regularly have to face in my job is that I can't make anyone return a book. I can beg and plead and arm-twist, but if students are unconcerned and willing to bear the consequences, they keep the upper hand. I'm not sure I've ever had anyone ultimately win this battle, though. Usually they get to a point when it's worth it to them to make me go away. I've never been a debt collector, but I suspect it's a similar job!
I came across this budding rose in the garden a week or two ago. I'm not sure I've ever seen a rose blooming in January! The poor bush doesn't even have any leaves. We're about to give all the roses their annual pruning so that will dissuade them from putting any more energy into flowers, instead regrowing stems and leaves for spring.
Dave and I have been enjoying "Slow Horses" on Apple TV, and we just started watching the second season of "The Bear" on Disney+. I want to watch season two of "Feud," featuring Truman Capote and his "swans," but I don't think it's available here in the UK yet -- at least not that I've found.
23 comments:
When I very first worked in an old fashioned library in 1971 aged 16, the librarian sent us assistants out to the homes of people with overdue books to knock on the door and try and get it back! It was actually quite frightening to do as we never knew what reaction we would get.
I am surprised that the parents aren't helping..but perhaps that is where the attitude comes from.
That is an impressive tag. There is something more there, not just a sqiggle
Please tell that irresponsible oaf that he has won a holiday at Pudding Towers in Yorkshire where h= will receive some specialised counselling and undertake a fifteen mile hike in The Peak District.
P.S. What's the title of the book he has selfishly commandeered?
When my sister died near Sheffield in a November a long time ago, all the trees and bushes were bare except for one bush outside her front door, which had one single, enormous red rose. Roses in winter always remind me of that.
I don't know what methods, if any, our public library uses but my daughter has been running into the problem of unreturned/lost books quite often. She is into reading highly serialized science fiction books that often have a dozen books in a series. I've lost track of the number of books I've had to track down online so that she could complete the series when the librarian told her that particular book hadn't been returned in months/years.
Not returning books seems to defeat the goal of the library to provide books to students/patrons. Could a policy of "return or replace the book or volunteer x number of hours at the library" to compensate for loss of the book? You could dictate the job to be done and the hours necessary. Does your library have a fund to replace lost books? The yellow rose is beautiful. I find everything grows exceptionally well in England. The temperate weather conditions seem to make 4 season growing possible.
I should have known that you know what to do with your students who are late returning books as you have been doing it for awhile now and know what works and what doesn't.
I love your yellow rose budding and will look for "The Bear" on Disney+!
Our public library system here doesn't charge fines anymore either. I find it a relief.
Billy's been watching "Feud" and loves it. I don't think we get Apple+.
I, too, have one rose blossom right now. And I need to prune. Things are getting a little out of hand with those stickery branches.
The librarians at the middle school were I taught always complained about kids not returning books and not giving a hoot if they did or didn't. They didn't charge fines either. I know it must be very frustrating!
While I can understand the parents wanting their 'child' to step up, as parents, part of that is insuring that he DOES step up. That is to say, you talk to the kid. You find out what he's done to resolve the situation. If he's done nothing, then it is up to them to come up with a restriction that will be put into place until he actually does step up. The fact that they are not doing anything like that shows me that the boy's attitude is mirrored on his parents. Sad.
Weird graffiti.
We also have this one rose, looks like yours, only in pink, that has been exactly like that since November, through frost and snow and stormy winds. I am afraid if I touch it will fall apart.
I thought maybe that graffiti reminded you of the kid with the overdue book.
That rose is a little winter miracle.
I watched "Slow Horses" last fall and enjoyed it very much. I love anything with Gary Oldman in it. He's such a great actor. I recently subscribed to Acorn so now I have a treasure trove of great British shows. I'm watching "Chelsea Detective" which is great and I just started "London Kills" which is a little more dramatic than the first one.
It seems like each little beaner is and individualist and responds to different actions. My bet is that you will get him.
As someone who depends on the library for my Book Club reads, I get frustrated when people don't return stuff on time or at all. That means I can't use it and sometimes have to buy the book. (which I can afford, but still) I've heard of both of those; my older daughter recommended the Bear but I don't have Disney Plus. I can access Apple TV so perhaps I'll watch Slow Horses.
I just subscribed to Hulu (30 day free trial) yesterday to watch the Capote and his Swans mini-series. Will start it today but looking through the selections available I think we may stay with Hulu.
I don't think fines work either for the reasons you described. Capote started yesterday here but I think I won't be watching till the weekend. Well.... maybe! I remember reading his "Answered Prayers" about them and thought, "Well, so much for that friendship!"
After reading Ed's comment above I'm extra glad that I do all of my library reading on my kindle app. If a book is popular I often have to wait quite a while, but it's never not returned :)
Back in my day (don't ask, it was many decades ago!) if you had unreturned library books, you didn't get your diploma.
Because we couldn't go and buy any book we wanted, or download everything we want 24/7, I think we put more VALUE on a single book.
Bonnie in Minneapolis
Like Bug said, I like using the library apps when I can. (Libby, hoopla) If you don't finish it in time, poof... it's returned! Where I get frustrated with that is when people don't return a book when they finish it, especially if it's popular and there are dozens of people waiting for it. Libby allots 14 days, but if I finish it in 5, I return it early so someone else can get it!
Fines do stop people using libraries, that's for sure.
Your rose is beautiful. A harbinger of things to come.
I love the Slough House books by Mick Herron that Slow Horses is based on.
One of my school Principals had this to say once about lost library books, "We're in the business of loaning books and there are always losses in business". I must add that he was a wonderful supporter of me and the library. However, I really couldn't feel that way about the books.
Sue: Yikes! I'm glad I don't have to do that! Though I must admit I've considered it.
GZ: I like the tag, too. There's some skill involved. I think some parents are reluctant to intervene in these situations because they want the kid to learn to handle his own problems, which I get.
YP: It's called "Every Falling Star," a memoir about a boy's escape from North Korea.
Mitchell: What a memory, and such a vivid image!
Ed: Books that come in a series (as almost everything does nowadays, it seems) really complicate this problem! Librarians HAVE to replace them in order to keep the series intact.
Susan: Volunteering is an interesting idea, though that might be more trouble than it's worth. Volunteers need training and they have to want to do the job right! I'd rather he just pay for the replacement.
Ellen D: Yes! "The Bear" is well worth it! It has nothing to do with actual bears.
Ms Moon: Yeah, as I mentioned, it's time for our annual pruning too.
Michael: I don't think I realized when I took this job how frustrating it could be!
Debby: Yeah, that's a good point. I have no idea what the conversations are like at home.
Sabine: Ha! One of our pink ones bloomed late last fall, and I was surprised at that too. It's been a weird year.
Sharon: Thanks for the additional recommendations! Yeah, Gary Oldman is FANTASTIC in this show. That graffiti tag IS sort of the face I make when I have to deal with recalcitrant kids! LOL
Red: I think so -- it's just a matter of time and frustration on my part!
Margaret: I recently had a case where a parent wanted a book for their book club, but the person who had it just WOULD NOT BRING IT BACK. The book-club parent ultimately had to buy the book. It was embarrassing for us!
Catalyst: I don't think we get Hulu here. I think its offerings are on some other streaming service. The first season of "Feud" is on Disney+ so I assume the second will wind up there too.
Jeanie: I read that "La Cote Basque, 1965" story years ago and I remember thinking it wasn't as good as his earlier writing. It was just too insular. Unless a reader was part of that circle, why would they care?
Bug: Yes, this is a huge advantage of e-books. It all happens automatically!
Bonnie: Yes, I think books as objects were generally considered much more valuable and worthy of respect years ago. Nowadays they're like magazines to many people.
Kelly: I guess you never know, though, whether someone's still reading it or just sitting on it. I agree, it's rude to not push the return button if you're done!
Caro: Or a remnant of things that were? (Since it's on last year's growth, which we're about to prune away!)
Lea: A certain degree of loss IS inevitable, but yeah, you have to do all you can to minimize it! I only read one Slough House book -- the one titled "Slough House," in fact. (I didn't realize at the time that I was starting in the middle of the series, but it still made sense.)
Library fines! One of my kids once had fines at several libraries and it got to the point where they wouldn't allow any more books borrowed until they got paid. Guess who paid? And guess who paid me back as soon as she found a job?
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