Maroon Opinions

Please return reserve books where you borrowed them...

I was wondering if there was any way of requiring that course reserve materials checked out from the Reg should have to be returned at the Reg? It seems like the purpose of a short loan period is to make the material available to as many students in the course as possible, and having a book unavailable for anyone while it is "in transit" between libraries does not really support that goal. I understand that all students are busy, but I think requiring students to take an extra ten minute walk to return a book so that another student can use it makes more sense than having a book in transit between locations for 3 hours or more. I don't know if this is feasible, but it seems really reasonable!

We couldn't have said it better ourselves, and do ask that patrons return reserve materials to the locations where they checked the material out. (see:  http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/using/borrow/).

Admittedly, the problem is enforcement. We usually don't levy fines for materials returned to the wrong location, because our system is programmed to stop the fine clock (so to speak) once a book is checked in at any library. Transit time, if any, back to the shelf isn't counted against the patron.

This being said, we could certainly fine people for the time a reserve book spends in transit. (3 hours would be on the fast side -- sometimes we can't ship books immediately.) Another option would be to notify the instructor, especially if the "stuck in transit" problem occurs frequently with a specific book.

Both of these options, however, are rather big guns to fire: overdue fines -- $1/hour -- would rack up quickly, and instructors often come down pretty hard on students who appear to be obstructing use of reserve materials. If you notice a specific reserve title frequently "in transit" please tell us, but otherwise we're inclined to assume that someone just made an honest mistake. 

Longer Reserve Periods?

Reserve books should either be able to be taken out for more than two hours (3-4), or students should not be fined so much for late returns (which could also be accomplished by expanding the grace period to 30 minutes).

We do offer instructors the option of letting a book be checked out for 2 hours, 4 hours, or 24 hours. If instructors don't express a preference our default is 2 hours, but this loan period is easily changed at any time -- just ask the instructor to contact us via our web form.

Note the request must come from the instructor, because of our worries about students trying to game the system at the expense of their classmates.

[UPDATE: The folks in JRL Reserve remind me that, for materials on reserve at the Reg, the default is 24 hours unless the instructor tells us otherwise.]

Recalls over the Interim

I wish people would refrain from recalling books right before the holiday!  Is there any way to at least discourage this practice?  I have no access to the books at my home until January and will now owe over $50 in recall fines.

We sympathize that having a book recalled while you're not in Hyde Park (due to break, study abroad, etc.) can be very frustrating. However, it's equally frustrating to the other patron who placed the recall.

Many faculty and students stay in Hyde Park for part or all of winter break to use the Library. For those in our community with teaching responsibilities, interims are often the ONLY time they can do concentrated research. We would not be surprised to learn that some researchers recall books before break so they will be available for their use specifically during interim.

Admittedly, some recalls are caused by Reserve, as we are busy acquiring books for winter quarter courses. In those cases, the Suggestions Office staff has heard rumors of circ supervisors showing some leniency...but they aren't required to do this, and some classes need their books starting the first day of the quarter.

In any case, we point you to the words at the top of every checkout slip: REGULAR LOANS MAY BE RECALLED AT ANY TIME. If you leave Hyde Park with a Library book on your shelf (or in your suitcase), you gamble with everyone else at the University, that they won't need your book while you are away. Thus the Library strongly encourages you to return your books before leaving.

Recall Notices to Requestors

I would suggest the library implement a feature of notifying the patron if a recalled title has not been returned within the allotted period.

Please write back as to whether this is feasible or possible. Thanks.

Just to be clear, when a recall becomes overdue you'd like us to send a notice not only to the borrower (already implemented), but also to the original requestor, right?

Generally, we expect Library patrons to keep tabs on their outstanding requests via their Library account (see "My Account" in the Library Catalog), or by checking the book's status in the catalog. These both provide real-time notifications of whether a recalled book has been checked in.

I'm guessing the primary purpose of a "requestor notice" would be to inform the requestor that the book probably isn't coming back soon, and to seek a copy elsewhere via interlibrary loan.

The Library recently discussed whether overdue recalls should become ILLs by default -- that is, if a recall becomes overdue, it would automatically generate an ILL request.

Generally most recalls (over 70%) are returned on or before the due date. By the 6th day after the due date, the return rate has risen to 90%. As it generally takes ILL about a week to obtain a book and make it available, we concluded that an automatic ILL would likely result in unnecessary duplication.

This being said, we will honor ILL requests for overdue recalls -- so if you notice one of your requests hasn't been returned within a week, feel free to place an ILL.

Recalled Books

Once again I have had a book recalled without being notified. Fortunately, this time I found out because my friend told me she had recalled a book, and I knew I had it. When I looked at my library account online, it indeed showed the book as recalled. But even having avoided a fine, it is distressing how frequently these unnotified recalls occur. If every student missed as many recall notices as I have, that would be about twenty or thirty thousand undelivered recall notices per year for the library. (But maybe the number and type of books I borrow cause me to have more recalls than the average student.) Another way of looking at it: if the percentage of recalls I don't receive is the same as everyone else's, the library's recall failure rate would be something like 20%. This sounds like something worth fixing.

We're sorry you failed to receive a recall notice.  Although we strive to deliver perfectly every notice of a recall, book on hold, or overdue book, some do slip through the cracks. Thankfully the failure rate is nowhere near 20%, but even one misdelivered notice can cause great problems.

There are some helpful steps you and other readers can take to reduce the chance of missing a Library notice:

• Switch to email delivery. We generally find notices delivered by email are more reliable than paper notices delivered by U.S. Mail. (Plus, you see them much more quickly.)
• Keep a current address on file with the Library. We get address information from the Registrar, but our two systems aren't always in perfect sync.
• If you receive notices by email, be sure to regularly check your uchicago account for Library messages -- and make sure mail from lib.uchicago.edu isn't getting tossed by a spam filter.
• Read the entirety of each message. Sometimes one email message will contain both an overdue notice and a recall notice.

Finally, if you are the victim of a misdelivered notice, give us your name and the book information in person at a circulation desk or online. Not only can we fix the situation for you, but also we need this information to find and fix systemic problems.

Overdue Reserve Books

Could you send out warnings about overdue reserve books as soon as possible after the loan period is over? I might be in serious debt right now if I hadn't gotten lucky when someone in my class reminded me about an overdue book.

Our library software "batches" all overdue notices: each time we send out notices, the system collects all notices generated since the last batch and emails them (or prints them out for us to send via postal mail).

We run notice batches daily Monday - Saturday, but as you point out this may not be timely enough to avoid fines on reserve material. We're upgrading to a new software package soon, and hope to have greater flexibility in this process.

You can also, at any time, log in to your library account (see "My Accounts" on the library homepage) to view due dates and times of books you have out.

Requests

I have a few suggestions about how the library handl requested book. First, I think the period is only valid for 45 days, that is too short. I think the reader should be given the option of how long the period should be, a short time or a longer time. Second, it seems the library is aiming to fine the borrower, instead of making them treturn the book earlier. The book is charged for replacement before the request period ends and I don't see library do anything to get a new book. And if the book is charged for replacement so early, nobody want to return the book since he is already charged for the replacement fee. I think library should aim to how to encourage the borrower to return the book. Third thing is, I don't think it should appear in the blocks although the fine is 0.0.

Thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, our computer system can't allow request periods of varying lengths--they all have to be the same.

If a borrower fails to return a requested book, we begin charging them $3.00/day. This is usually sufficient incentive to return the book promptly.

If they refuse to return the book, we charge them a replacement fee of $100.00. Since most books are much less expensive than $100.00, most borrowers return the book (or give us a replacement) rather than pay the fee.

In general, we always prefer borrowers return library books, rather than pay fines, and we have tried to set up the fine structure to accomplish this.

Blocks are "messages to the borrower." These include fine and fee notices, but also reports that a book is on hold, or that a request has expired. Some of the blocks say "0.00" even though the message is not about a fine, and I am sorry that this is confusing.

Fines and Books Not Checked In

I wish shelvers and checkers would be more careful about checking in materials when they are returned. This is the second time I have been fined, charged, and restricted for a book which I had actually returned and which was reshelved without being checked in. I am extremely angry at having to hunt down copies in the stacks.

 

Ideally, not discharging a returned book would never happen, and I realize how frustrating it is to be charged for returned books. Last year Regenstein staff checked in 837,348 items, and the count for all libraries surpassed one million items. Based on the number of claims we received, the Library correctly processed 99.8% its checkins. However, ideally we would have 100% accuracy, since even one mistake can be extremely frustrating to a library user.

To help address this problem, our Head of Bookstacks set up a quality control program in January, which will use random sampling to verify items are checked in accurately. We welcome other suggestions for how we can improve our check-in process. You can help us catch mistakes by diligently monitoring the notices we send (patrons are sent multiple overdue notices before we impose fines and restrictions) and alerting us to any mistakes. You can also conveniently check the books charged out on your account using the My Account feature of the catalog.

Fine Appeal

Hello,
This may not be the right place to make my appeal, but I've been fined an overdue charge for a book that was recalled while I was away from Chicago. I returned the book as soon as I returned to Chicago, but it was two days overdue. I apologize for the delay, but I just could not return it any earlier and I wonder if, given that the late return occurred during a break, the fine could be waived.

If, as I suspect, I ought to contact someone else with this request, please let me know who that might be. I wasn't able to figure it out from the website (under "My Accounts"). So, I suppose, in a way my request is also a comment about web page design: if there's a way to appeal library fines online, there should be a link or an email address indicated somewhere under "My Accounts" that allows someone to write to a library staff member and request that, e.g., a fine be waived, as in my case.

We do have an online form to make fine appeals (at  http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/using/circ/appeal.html), but its location is somewhat obscure: from the Library's main page, check under "Access and Policies," then click on "Borrowing Policies." Having it under My Accounts isn't a bad idea--I'll ask about that. [Readers: Fine appeals are reviewed by the circulation supervisor at the home library for the book(s). Fines on JRL books are handled by circulation supervisors at Regenstein, and so on.]

[Also, most circulation departments do not waive overdue fines for books recalled during breaks and interims. Although we understand that you aren't deliberately keeping the book hostage (we hope!) and will promptly return the book when you return to campus, the fact still remains that somebody else needs the book. For many faculty and graduate students--and an increasing number of undergrads--interims are the best time for concentrated research, and not having their recalls returned promptly really slows them down.]

Fine Appeals

I submitted a fine dispute last weekend, but didn't get any response or a confirmation. I want to make sure that you received my dispute. Here it is...[details about particular fine from a reserve book]

I checked with Regenstein Circulation, and they confirmed this fine had been waived from your account on October 10th. I'm sorry no one notified you earlier, but you can be assured it should not trouble you further.