What can be done about the troublesome numbers of overdue library books? A set of strategies (10 in number) is provided by Bacon, Pamela S. in the journal Library Media Connection. For example:
• ‘Never allow students to renew a book’
• ‘No matter what the question . . . always say no first’
• ‘Practice saying “shhh” with as much resentment as you can manage’
&etc
The author clarifies :
“Obviously, you’ve figured out by now that no practicing media library specialist would ever follow these 10 tips. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that overdues weren’t so bad after all.”
– in the sense that the implication is that students are actually reading more rather than less, and are probably also sharing books amongst their friends.
“Sure, overdues still bother me – but given the alternative I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
See: Don’t Overdo Worrying about Overdues! Library Media Connection, v24 n3 p45.
Observation: Should you require more info on research into ‘overdues’, then the following is also of note :
“Very little research on overdues and fines has been carried out at UK university libraries; this study aims to address this gap in the literature.”
The quote is from a 2013 study, performed at Leeds University, UK, which not only examined the reasons why students don’t return books on time (for example, because they forgot, because they didn’t realise it was overdue, or had lost it &etc.) but also suggest a variety of strategies to combat the practice – including a one-off fines amnesty.
See : Overdue books at Leeds University Library Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume: 46 issue: 3, page(s): 226-242