City Spends Thousands Tracking Down Overdue Materials

News story about the Omaha Public Library using Unique Management Service to collect overdue materials and fines.

July 27, 2010 by Uncategorized 9

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9 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:
    July 27, 2010 at 6:16 am

    Smokers
    One of the comments to the story ended with this line – Now if we can get the nasty smokers to not ruin library books with their stinky, disgusting habit.

    Questions

    Have you had patrons complain about library books having a smoke smell after a smoker has had them checked out?

    I trade books at Paperbackswap.com (PBS) and I have had to list “no books that come from a smoking home” in my requester conditions because I have gotten some books that reeked of smoke. Literally turned my stomach when I opened the package.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      July 27, 2010 at 2:16 pm

      newspaper
      For books returned with the extreme smoke smell, we will change their status to reflect they are being held in technical services and not able to check out. We will then wrap them in newspaper for a few days. Newspaper does get most of the smell out.

      Reply
      • Anonymous says:
        July 27, 2010 at 2:30 pm

        Interesting
        Interesting that this is a problem that is big enough that there is a procedure to deal with it.

        Reply
        • Anonymous says:
          July 27, 2010 at 4:52 pm

          not a big problem
          It’s not a big problem. We change books status to technical services for many reasons, not just smells. Pages to be taped, binding to be fixed, covers to be replaces, barcodes to be replaced. The procedure is there for ANY book that needs any kind of ‘fixing’. The only thing different is the method of ‘mending’.

          Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    July 27, 2010 at 8:31 am

    Oh yes
    When I worked in a public library you could really tell.
    And since then when buying things from Ebay, (more in the past now) I got some verys moky stinking things. You’d wonder how china can stink of fags.

    Reply
  3. Lee Hadden says:
    July 27, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    Public Smells
    In a public library, you will get books returned with all sorts of smells added to the fine print. The books come back with kimchi smells, heavy cologne smells, curry smells, incense smells, fish smells, woodsmoke smells, mold smells, peanut butter smells, and all sorts of odd odors and scents.

    Paper will often absorb odors from their surroundings, and many patrons do not wash their hands before handling a library book.

    You can turn your nose up to the different smells and to the patrons who do not share your higher class values, but they are the sign that the books are being read and being handled by people who are very different from you: culturally, ethnically and socially.

    And that is a good sign, both for the books and the library. It would be terrible if only the “right sort” of people used the public library. Everything would then be pristine, but unused!

    R. Lee Hadden (These are my own opinions!)

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      July 27, 2010 at 5:00 pm

      higher class values?
      I take it you’ve never handled a book that smells like cat urine? Because if you think about it, that’s a sign the books been used. So should we just put that book back on the shelf without attempting to tone down the smell? No one is saying they have “higher class values” or that every books should be pristine. But, odors can be very distracting, even causing physical reactions in some people. Other posters commented on their preferences for purchasing their own personal books.

      Reply
      • Anonymous says:
        July 28, 2010 at 1:21 pm

        You should return a library
        You should return a library book in a state that is as close to the state you were lent it.
        It smelling of smoke or with stains on it is not the same state.

        Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    July 27, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    Another reason for ebooks
    >Paper will often absorb odors from their surroundings, and many patrons do not wash their hands before handling a library book.

    Another reason for libraries to have ebooks. I am not talking about loaning a device because that can be germed up also. Brink your own ebook reader and the library provides the digital file. Can’t get smoke or intestinal bacteria on the digital file.

    Reply

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