Last week, I wrote a check to my library for…ugh. I can’t even admit it. It was horrible and huge. Between two lost books, overdue movies and late fees, my fine was an all-time high. It drives my husband crazy. He claims it would be cheaper for me to start buying books we want for the kids instead of checking things out of the library. He threatens to add up all my fines for the year just to prove his point. But he’s already grumpy with the library. He’s frustrated with the amount of money our library puts into state-of-the-art self-checkout stations and “digital collections” versus a good collection of regular old books. I tend to agree, but he’s also my old-fashioned husband, remember?
But the library…it’s like a candy store for my house full of readers. All these books for free? Borrow as many as you want? Books on every subject, story and style? It’s heaven. And it never fails that I’m walking out of the library with an overflowing bag and arms full of books.
And when we get home everyone grabs their books, goes their separate ways and begins to devour their collections.
And then, well, then things fall apart.
I’ve tried a lot of systems for keeping track of our library books. I’ve tried a central basket at the foot of our stairs to corral all the books. I’ve demanded that books can only be read in the living room, not upstairs, not in the bathroom, not in the car, not under the covers in bed. I’ve clipped the 4 foot long book receipt to the fridge in attempt to remind myself of what’s due and when. I’ve limited the number of books they check out (only two per kid!) despite the whining and tears in the library lobby.
But with all these kids (and their parents) and all these books, I am fighting a losing battle.
I haven’t found the solution to my library fine problems. I always return things late. We constantly misplace books. (And isn’t it always the worst books, too?!) And they end up scattered all over my house.
But I bet you my friends, have a good system. While I know I’m not the only one who’s chalked up enough fines to have a wing named after her at the library, I’m guessing some of you have it figured out. Multiple kids and millions of books later, you’ve figured out how to keep the books organized and the fines at a minimum.
So do share. Tell this mama of many how to handle the library books. Do you have a great organizational system? Do you have specific “library book rules”? Help a girl out. These fines are breaking the bank.
{About Molly, our Education + Learning blogger: She’s a homeschool mom of four and freelance writer that lives in a fixer-upper farmhouse in rural Maryland. You can find her at her blog Mommy Coddle or find all her favorite things at MommyCoddleLIKES. And she’s on twitter as MommyCoddle}
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Does your library subscribe to library elf? It keeps track of all the library cards in your house (so all your kids and husbands as well!)and sends an email when they’re due. It reminds me starting 3 days before they’re due and then every day after that, including every day they are overdue (kind of annoying, and nagging, but it gets me to turn them in!). It also lets you know when books you have put on hold are in.
Another thing I do is go EVERY Monday. My kids check out DVDs, and they are only good for a week, so it kind of forces my hand to go every week. It has gotten us into a great habit, and my boys LOVE to go, and I love to take them!
I’ve found we have to have a certified system to keep track of library books, and even then it sometimes falls apart. BUT…I’m happy to share
1) Kids (and parents) are limited to checking out 3-4 books at a time.
2) All library books go into a library book bag. Sometimes we just have one bag for the entire family. Sometimes each kid has their own. (Usually during summer reading programs, so I can keep track of who’s read what.)
3) Each child may only have ONE library book out of the bag at a time. Before they can start the next one, the one they were reading has to be back in the bag. I check at the end of homework time every day, and send them searching for whatever’s missing before they can do anything else in life.
4) The list goes on the fridge, and we’re signed up for email reminders from the library re: when books are due.
Yes, we still rack up fines. I paid more for a book than it was worth when my oldest left it in VA on summer vacation. But most of the time, this gets us by!
I do something similar… I just LIMIT the number to about 3 books per person, and we go weekly to renew/check out/return. It also helps to keep the receipt they give you when you check out, so you can check the stash in the library bag against the list.
But I often joke that my library should name a wing after me with all the late fees and lost book/DVD fees I’ve paid! I just figure I’m doing my bit to support the awesomeness that is the public library system… in our area the libraries are struggling so I’m happy to pay this particular “stupid tax”.
I just wrote a check to my library for $19.50, so I know where you’re coming from!
The one thing I’ve found that really helps (and I obviously didn’t do this last month) is to jot the “due day” on my main family calendar. I look at the calendar a lot; I don’t always look at my library receipt.
And while I’m determined to cut back on the library fines, I don’t really mind paying them too much. A couple bucks here and there for unlimited access to just about any book I want? Totally worth it!
My library is wonderful! You can renew online up to five times before they want to see the book and they email reminders 3 days before they’re due. They don’t have fines on junior tickets and they don’t charge for requests for books from the other 7 or 8 libraries in our area. Needless to say everytime I spot something online I want to look at I’m straight on to the library website to place a hold.
Also when we do self checkout we print a receipt which itemises all the books on each ticket with the due date. That printout gets stuck to the calender so I can see what books we have at home.
Hurrah for libraries!
Oh thank GOD someone else has this problem! I’m a librarian even and the amount of money I have to fork over at check out is SO embarrassing. And we also buy a lot of books at library sales, so we have a lot of books we own that look like library books with barcodes. It makes it ridiculously hard to find those missing books.
I like Renee’s suggestion – especially as my kids are getting older and we don’t have as many picture books checked out (which you can’t help but read in piles).
Another idea that’s on my list is to buy some of those stretchy book covers you see with the school supplies and put those on the library books that are currently being read. This would help remind everyone that it’s a library book and shouldn’t go back on a bookshelf!
Sue!!!! We’ve been shopping at library book sales a lot lately, too. And it is ridiculous how hard it makes it to find the books on the shelves. I always have to search for the “Withdrawn” stamp or the inked out barcode. Makes me crazy. I’m with you, I like the idea of a book bag for each kid. And I love your idea of the books covers. Good thinking!
I have a special bucket for the books in the living room and the books need to be put away into the bucket. Also, because I have two school-aged kids who check out books from their school library, public library books are not allowed upstairs unless they are being read by an adult. I have a special bag for the books so when my older kids are done, they put their books into the bag and I know they’re ready to be returned. I get all my notices from the library sent via email and I frequently check my account status to see if something is coming due so I can renew it. This is especially helpful as I only have 2 free days to go to the library to return books. I try to take my 4 year olds to the library on Tuesday mornings before we hit the grocery store and the other kids know if they want something they need to let me know before than so I can check it out or request it via inter-library loan. Of course, I still have fines here and there but mostly just a few days worth because I’m ridiculously anal about returning books. I guess all those years working in college and law school libraries turned me into a bit of a fiend.
We check out an obscene amount of books which may be part of the problem. The library allows 50 books per card and we usually have 2 cards going at a time. I don’t limit books during most of our visits as we are still in the picture book phase. Although I have been know to “try” a 10 item limit per kiddo. We visit weekly as well which helps with the DVDs (those I do limit as the fine is bigger). I receive the emails and can renew online, but still I have fines. Recently I had to argue with the librarian about two books reported lost. One was sitting right on the shelf. I know for certain I returned the other one. UGH! what is a mama to do is right.
ME TOO! I’ve often found books they swore were not turned in on the shelf.
And I find it really hard to limit books for my kids. I don’t let them watch a ton of TV and it’s a lot easier to enforce that rule when they have a stack of books to dig into.
Library check I wrote last week: Thirty-seven dollars (hangs head in shame)
I have four kids and three love to read. (The other is two and he mostly loves to throw books across the room.) They are huge readers and fast readers. I could never limit them to 3 or 4 books we would be headed to the library every other day.
We are lucky in that our library emails us a few days before the books are due, letting us know what books are due and when. That helps. (Obviously not LAST time around, but still. It helps.)
I’ve tried the whole thing where we have a couple of shelves in the bookcase just for library books, or a basket just for library books, or a book bag for library books, but inevitably they carry them around the house reading and absent-mindedly leave them all over the place. I do it too, so it’s hard to complain too loudly. My oldest in particular is like Gretel – leaving a trail of books behind her everywhere she goes.
I definitely use our library’s email reminder system. I also sometimes limit library trips to what I’ve reserved online and had them pull aside for me. We’re super lucky because our library does not give fines for ANY children’s item. They say it discourages kids (read: parents) from using the library, and I have to agree. If I had to pay all the fines we would have racked up, I’d definitely be cutting back. Maybe petition your library for a similar policy?
We have four kids that range in age from 9 to 3. The younger two and I use my card and the older two each have their own. This gives us the potential to check out 90 items in any one visit but the total number that we can have out is unlimited.
The best thing we did was sign up for email reminders and make sure the older two know they are responsible for their own fines and lost card fees, they are motivated to keep their money.
All library books theoretically live in the same spot – an old, small writing desk that serves as a side table in our living room. Any errant library books are returned there. Each child has a slot where “their books” go. Because we check out so many books, we go every three weeks when the books are due, this also works well when the 3 yo wants to hear the same book over and over again. The night before, the entire family reconciles the library’s accounting of what we have out with what we have in our house. Any missing book is hunted down and located before anything else happens, it’s really good if library night and dessert night co-incide. Once it goes in the bag to be returned it is not allowed out, if they want to read it again it goes in the keep pile and is renewed on-line. If things are especially hectic or chaotic around the house, I preemptively renew the books on-line just to cya.
I have no advice since I’m quite bad at the whole returning the books altogether and on time thing! Ive tried different systems…but none have really worked.. I was thinking of making today a library day too, so I’m going to read the advice above and hope when we check out our overflowing bag of books they will all make it back and on time
it doesn’t help that I’m not really in love with our library either so going is a bit of a drag 
I am ever so thankful for our local library and the fact that they don’t charge library fees. Otherwise, I alone would be able to keep it in business!
We’re pretty good about returning books because we go nearly every. single. day. Or at least my kids do (the oldest is 14 – so he takes his 6yo brother when he goes). It helps that the library is only 4 blocks away and they can walk.
Between the 7 of us, we read over 100 books a week! What can I say? We love to read!
Before any trip to the library, I go online and check to see what is due. Anyone who can’t find their books to go back, doesn’t get to check out ANYTHING new. Which is apparently the worst punishment ever for them based on the number of tears they’ve cried on that one.
I actually did start buying books for a while because our fines were so out of hand, but that got really expensive! I finally found a system that works for us – we go to the library EVERY Friday, and at least a few hours before we go, I get online and try to renew every book we have checked out that is due within the next 10 days (even if I know we are returning some that day). Then, if one can’t renew that is due, I make the kids find it or they don’t get TV time that day. Oh, we also have a separate shelf for library books, but I won’t even begin to pretend the books always make it there. What really cut down on fines for us was the weekly trip combined with renewing everything once a week. We check out about 60 books a week (!) – our fines are down to about $2 a month.
We have 5 library cards in our house (the 6yo asked for one for his bday) and we regularly have at least half maxed out at 30 items. Do the math – we have a HUGE amount of library materials here at any given time. The way we handle it is to have a set day of the week for the library, and I check all 5 cards online, renewing whatever I can, making lists of what won’t renew. Then we gather and go. Oh, we also have library cubbies in the playroom. It at least handles the overflow – what we’re done with/haven’t gotten to yet. We still end up paying about $40 a year or so in fines (usually vacations throw me for a loop), but for what we get, that’s not a bad deal.
And I wouldn’t limit what the kids can check out (as someone else suggested)- that’s the magic of the library.
Kirsten, I have tried to limit the number of books, but I just can’t limit myself so I think it’s unfair to limit the kids. But we have a limit of 60 books on an account, so we use that to limit. (we hit it almost every week. *there are 7 of us)
No advice here. I had a huge library fine that had me in tears at the library. Apparently libraries are quite offended when you say that you for that kind of money you would expect to be buying something. We just recently decided to check out a few more books, but CDs and DVDs are out for now. The fines are just too high, and with five children, we can’t always be right on top of the library due dates…
Putting the receipt on the fridge – good. Limit the number of books per person – better. In this example, we’ll go with 3. Gotta keep them in a central location. Period. It is each person’s responsibility for their books. If children 1, 3, 4 and 5 have all their books, they can check out 3 more. If child 2 has misplaced all three of his/her books, they don’t get any more until they are found. If children 1-5 each only have 2 books to return, they only get 2 more at the library. Keep the number of items checked out consistent.
The late fees? Depends on why they are late. Is it just mom/dad not getting around to dropping them off? Then mom/dad pays. If the kid doens’t get them turned in on time, they have to pay for it. Also, if they lose a book, they are responsible for that cost as well.
Also, each child in my house has their own library card. That actually helps
I wish I could help. We have the same exact problem. I consider it my donation to the library.
I just wish they would issue a tax receipt
Being able to check your account online is hugely helpful. I check it daily, both to see what is coming due and should be read first, and to get a list and go on a library sweep before we take a trip to the library. It helps that I am pretty regimented about the books we own– the kids put them in a neat stack on the top of the bookshelf and I put them away, so I tend to see if there is a library book stuck in there. We keep them in a couple of rugged tote bags located centrally, so I can chuck books in there as we tidy up.
I use library elf to remind me, but we still end up with tons of fines. I pay library fines every month just to keep my account under $10 (that’s the amount it has to be under to keep checking out books.)
But with that said, I really don’t mind paying library fines. At least all 5 of my kids are reading every week. 2 years ago, I couldn’t get my 13 year old daughter to pick up a book. Then I read that boys who don’t like to read, will read graphic novels. There are like comics in book form. She started checking those out and once she read every one of those from the library, she started finding books. Now she read up to 10 books a week sometimes.
So, no, I don’t mind paying the fees!
Our library, well the one we choose to go to which is not our closest library, doesn’t charge a fee for late books and has a wonderful website that’s easy to navigate and makes renewing simple. Of course I’ll still forget to renew sometimes and we’ve still had to purchase a few that went MIA or were water damaged, but only a few in 10 years.
The only limit I put on the number of books allowed, is they have to be able to carry their own books out of the library (although I have been known to squeeze a few books into my own bag when they overdo it.) It is so much easier now that the kids are big enough to check out, keep track of and hunt down their own books. When they were all little I worked a little harder at keeping the number of books set to 20 or so total.
We have an entire book case, a small one, that is designated to library books. They roam the whole house, but we try to return them regularly and I find that even if the books aren’t “living” on the shelf, it helps to have a place for them to go when we do find them. I also try to gather what I can when I tuck the kids in at night. This didn’t work for us for years when it was just a shelf on our crowded bookcase, but having way more room than is actually needed for the books seems to make a difference. Or maybe, again, it’s that the kids are bigger now. (10, 9, 7 and 4)
Each of the older kids has their own library card, which worried me at first, but has been wonderful. They feel so much more responsible for the books and they know that if a book that’s checked out on their card goes missing they’ll be paying the fee out of allowance or birthday money. It helps when rounding up books to return too, because each kid has their own list of books to find. And if one is overdue, and missing, they aren’t allowed to get any new ones, they think it’s the library’s rule (although I have been known to allow just one or two on my own card if all but the one were returned)
I also noticed that visiting regularly has made a huge difference. I plan a weekly library day, sometimes we get busy and miss it or aren’t in the mood and skip it, but having a day set aside means we rarely miss more than one or two weeks in a row and that means we are there often enough to return all of our books on time. I also try to use that day, whether we go or not to take inventory and get all the books on the bookshelf and/or renewed if need be. Again, it doesn’t always happen, but just having a day scheduled for it means that it will, at least once a month.
I have to say though, that the best thing is the fact that there are no fees at our library until a book is considered lost. I’m not sure how long it takes, but it’s a while. I was shocked when I realized most library’s charge late fees. We use the same library I went to as a kid, in part because of that. Have most libraries always charged? Does it really make a difference in having things returned on time or is it just a way to make money?
We ALWAYS go to the library on Tuesdays – no matter what. The threat of overdue dvds keeps us honest. They cost a buck a day in overdue fees.
Hi! I am a homeschool mom and a part-time reference librarian. I agree with you on the self-checkout thing!
As for a library system, ask your library if they can send you alerts via email, most systems send emails 3 days before a book is due. You can have all of your family’s library cards alerts sent to one email. You should also have access to your account(s) from the internet (you may need to get the PIN from your library). When you get the alert that your books are due in 3 days, there will more than likely be a link to the library website, just click over, sign in with your card # and PIN and renew the books
We usually have at least 100 books out at a time, and all I can say is thank goodness for the reminder emails the library sends when I have books due. Well, that and online renewal. With those two things I only paid 60 cents in fines over the past few months. Without them… Ugh, I don’t want to think about it.
Oh, and my one library rule is: No paperback books. They must all be hardcover. Paperback books are the only ones we have ever lost and had to pay for. Well, except for the book I accidentally dropped in the mailbox instead of the book return, but I don’t count that.
I get the email alerts, and can go online and renew from there. It is marvelous. We also go to the library every Thursday. That way our books are always due on the same day and I don’t have to worry about hitting random days of the week. Every Thursday morning I do a roundup of books. (My kids are 4 and 2.) Library books also don’t leave the house. Too much cause for disaster there.
In the same boat! Just racked up fines on the most ridiculous book we got out of the whole bunch- a Barbie fairy board book. I didn’t even want to get that book anyway, but it was for my reading discouraged 6 year old. I have a special magazine rack in the living room that is supposed to be for library books, but the kids are 7,6,4, and 3. They don’t keep up with them as well as I would like.
Me, too. Just had to beg to not be ‘shut off’ . I only had $10 on me to pay my overdue fines and still my balance is over $5. (Strict guidelines preventing users owing over $5) She was nice and overrode it…..but some of those librarians are scary!
The worst cause of my fines are theDVD /VCR tapes we borrow. Only a week!
Still it’s the best deal in town!
Many of the same techniques–
–Same day every week
–Use the online site/email reminders
–I renew books even if I think we will return them, just in case
–rarely check out DVDs
–library books only tub downstairs
That said, I often check Sunday night to see what needs to be returned and then forget to go back to the site to actually renew the books on Monday. Thankfully, I do get an email on Wednesday when that happens and can go back an renew them then. That limits the fines. At least most of the fines are on the kids’ books and are dramatically cheaper. (And my library takes credit cards, which postpones the “you paid them how much?” conversation.)
We average about 20 items checked out at a time. We utilize the reminder e-mail service. I regularily renew items even if i’m sure they’ll be returned before the due date. Our fees are very small at 10¢ a day, but as some of the others mentioned I definitely consider it a donation to the library and I always round up to the next dollar when I pay my fees. There’s no way we would have ever read as many books as we do if it were not for the library. We typically only have 3 spots that I find books around the house… child’s bedroom, car or living room. If in the bedroom, we typically leave the library books on the nightstand, in the car they are in a collect all box that’s on the floor in the back seat and living room – I’ve told my kids if I find a library book laying in the living room, it gets put in a pile by the car keys to go back to the library, even if they wanted to keep it longer. DVD’s always stay by the DVD player in the living room. Good Luck !
Put the burden of the missing books back on your kids (assuming age 5 and above). Any overdue fees come from extra chores or the kid loses library privileges until the book is found or paid for.
I know it sounds harsh, but there are 4 of them and only 1 o f me. Kindergarten age is well old enough to account for your own books on your own library card.
The email system helps for me, but they get and post their own printed slip. They know that every day that book is missing or overdue, some other child can’t read it, and what a shame that is.
We purchased one of these last year and they work a treat.
Good luck with it all!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76678987/2012-overdue-book-calendar-elementary
1)We share one card
2)We limit books to three or four per person
3)We have a book box right near the front door
4)Utilize online system to the max
5)Regular library day each week, I collect books the night before
Same as most, I think. With all that said, I just paid for a lost DVD today. I think the baby got hold of it, and there’s no telling where it is! Honestly, the biggest thing is that now that we’re no longer homeschooling, the kids mostly take books out from the school library (they can go daily). They keep their books in their bags and the thrill of being able to go every day keeps things in check.
We go to the library every two weeks and return or recheck out everything that way all our books have the same due date. Our three kids check out as many books as they want. We usually get about 60 books. (We like to read around here.) All the books stay in a rubbermaid box that we also use to carry all those heavy books to and from the library. The books must stay in the box all the time unless they are being read. They can only have 1 or 2 books out to read at a time. We have not lost a book yet this way.
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