Hit: Walking Books

[Paula Bainter <pbainter@USD327.ORG>]

It seem that getting books back from students that leave in the middle of
the year is a major problem with a lot of schools.  I got LOTS of responses.
To summarize:

Two thirds of the responses said that they didn't not send student records
on until all obligations were taken care of.  (This is not an option for
us.)

Many schools had a form that students took around to all departments to be
signed indicating that their financial obligations to the department had
been paid.

A few suggested contacting the new school for help in getting books back .

Badgering students and their parents was also a way to get some things back
before they actually left.

It was suggested that if the lost was significant enough the school could
take the family to small claims court.

All of these ideas work with most students and parents  and we have tried
most of them.  The ones that are the most problem, however, are the students
that just disappear in the night.  Sometimes the first we know that they are
gone is when we get a request for records from another school.  We let the
new school know about the problem and occasionally they will be able to
help.  Most of the time there is no response.  I even had a parent call and
tell me that they were not going to pay their library fines.  So there.

Does anyone have a policy of requiring a deposit that is refunded when the
student leaves?  This seems a little too simple not to have been tried.  I
think even a small deposit ($10 per family?)  would be a big  incentive to
return library books before they left.   Would such a policy be legal?

Paula Bainter
Library Media Specialist
Ellsworth Elementary School
110 East 3rd Street
Ellsworth, Kansas  67439
785-472-5554 Fax 785-472-8118
pbainter@usd327.org
http://www.usd327.org/EES/EESlib/index.htm

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