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San Francisco Library Turns To Bill Collector To Track Down Overdue Fines
CBS SF ^ | 11/21

Posted on 11/21/2017 12:25:19 PM PST by nickcarraway

San Francisco public library officials say they have tried just about everything they could think of to track down long overdue books.

At the start of the year, they even offered a six-week amnesty period for patrons to return long overdue books and settle up their fines. More than 10,000 patrons took advantage of the amnesty — returning 699,563 borrowed materials. Another $329,797 in penalties was forgiven.

But currently, officials told the San Francisco Examiner, there are still 13,000 patrons who owe more than $100 in fines

So library officials are turning to the city’s official bill collectors — the Office of Treasurer and Tax Collector’s Bureau of Delinquent Revenue — to track down dead beat patrons.

“This initiative is the latest in our efforts to remove barriers to access and to address our outstanding liability,” Cathy Delneo, the San Francisco Public Library’s chief of branches, told the Library Commission last week.

According to the Examiner, the library collected $445,590 in fines and fees during the last fiscal year.

The new collection process will allow for payment plans and a chance to negotiate a lower amount than owed, something librarian staff are not authorized to do.

The Bureau of Delinquent Revenue will direct mail three notices and send three email notifications to library patrons seeking to collect over a period of time beginning in January.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; library; sanfrancisco
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To: hal ogen

Surprisingly no. Even the more affluent folks in town don’t bother with getting the service at home. They come to the library, use the computers, and leave.

They also check out a LOT of books.


21 posted on 11/21/2017 6:13:41 PM PST by Conan the Librarian (The Best in Life is to crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and the Dewey Decimal System)
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To: Oratam
How funny - you got a big up your butt over Seinfeld?

Libraries are needed but the point is that certain areas have a lot of folks (mainly Dems) who love to make use of "free" services and have no sense of responsibility as far as not stealing from the folks that provide the services.

Kind of like the folks who use FR but never seem to click on the

Donate to FR

links......Junior.

22 posted on 11/22/2017 3:04:31 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: hal ogen

I am not homeless.. I go to the library because I love to read. It’s a great place for young families to bring their kids.


23 posted on 11/24/2017 2:30:58 AM PST by momincombatboots (White Stetsons up.. let's save our country!)
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