How I Avoided Library Fines for an Entire Year
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I managed to avoid paying any library fines for a solid year! That is a pretty big feat for a homeschooler to accomplish. We usually check out around 60 books a week during the school year! Want to hear how I did it?
It was actually really easy and didn’t involve any late-night or last-minute mad dashes to the library. Library fines usually involve either late fees or damage fees. Luckily, both are pretty easy to avoid.
How to Avoid Library Fines
Library fines are generally made up of three types of charges:
- Late fees
- Damage charges
- Lost books
Late Fees
Use only one library card for your entire family. This makes it easy for me to stay on top of all the books we check out. I only need to check one online account to see what books we have out.
Sign up for email notifications. Most libraries will email a reminder to you a few days before books are due. They do not put these reminders in the USPS mail, though, so linking an email address to your card is important.
As soon as you get the due date notice, renew your books. Renew the books within a few minutes of reading the reminder email so you don’t get sidetracked and forget.
Most, if not all, libraries will allow you to renew your books online or over the phone. Renew every single item that is coming due, even if you think you will make it to the library in time.
Don’t renew books that are not due for a while, though. Most libraries will only give you so many renewals, so don’t waste them when there are still weeks left on your checkout.
Go to the library the same day every week. This will help you avoid being only a day or two late. It also seems to help my homeschool schedule if the week has a predictable flow.
What if you can’t renew a book?
Sometimes other people reserve books, and you are unable to renew. When that happens, you don’t really have any other choice than to return the book on your next library visit. If you go the same day every week, you can just drop it off then without making a special trip.
Damage Fees
The single most important thing you can do to avoid damage fees is flip through every book before you check it out and look for damage. This is especially important with children’s books. Books for young children seem to get a little more wear and tear than other selections.
If you find any writing, torn pages, water damage, or stains, bring it to the attention of a librarian. They can sometimes fix the damage, but can always make a note on your account that the book was damaged before you checked it out.
You don’t want to pay for damage you didn’t do.
Don’t eat or drink around library books. Sometimes I break this rule for myself, but I never allow my kids to eat or drink around library books. Spills are much less frustrating to clean up if I know I’m not going to be charged for damage.
Lost Books
Keep books in a designated location. Return all library books to a specific spot or two whenever they are not being read. We have a designated library basket in our home office. We never have to look for books all through the house because we know exactly where they are.
Don’t take library books on trips. Library books seem more likely to be lost or damaged if they go on trips. Before a trip, visit a little free library or a used bookstore to stock up on reading material.
One final way to avoid library fines is to check out electronic copies of books.
The library will automatically retrieve their copy when the book is due. You can’t keep the book longer or damage it even if you wanted to, so there is literally no possibility for a fine.
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