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From: Beth McCheyne <bmccheyn@onondaga.bitnet> I would like to hear how other school libraries operate regarding the use of the library when library staff cannot be present. Our K-3, and 4-6 libraries have in the past been unlocked by maintenance so that teachers can get the materials they need when it is convenient for them. For many years, this worked fairly well, but this past year it became a problem. Teachers have gotten into the habits of sharing materials checked out in their name with several others w/o checking them back in, taking books without signing them out, letting students sign their teacher's name on book cards, and taking materials from the return cart that are still signed out to someone else. The result of all this confusion was that at the end of last June, there were approx. 180 items that were checked out by staff that were not returned, even after two notices asking them to return the materials or at least verify that they were still using them. Another problem that occurred was that many teachers were allowing students to go to the library, even when they knew it was unsupervised due to our cafeteria duties or lunches. Today at our first staff mtg. I reviewed the problem and announced that the library will now be locked unless library staff is present. I told them that we would sign the cards for them if they were in a hurry, and that we would provide as much service as we can, but that the loss of materials must stop. What I want to know from you folks is whether this sounds reasonable, whether there might be another solution, whether you leave your libraries unlocked when you're not there, and how much of a loss would you find acceptable? I'm not sure if the principal is going to continue to back me up on this or not. I did meet with him before making this decision, and he seemed quite supportive. I suspect that he may let people in when I'm not around anyway, but that is based on rumor that I can't be sure of. If the problem continues, should I go higher up? Does anyone send bills to staff for lost items? Any other suggestions? Please respond to me directly - due to a storage problem, I have had to set my mail to nomail for a couple of days. I will be back on soon and will post a hit if it seems warranted (and if I figure out how to do it..._). Thank you so much for your time and advice. Beth McCheyne K-6 Library Media Specialist Interlaken, NY bmccheyn@onondaga.bitnet