[Publib] Removing item checkout limits for media

[Linda Ballard]

In addition to the "piggish behavior" on the part of a few patrons that
one respondent reported (with the resultant impact on others' ability to
get the DVDs they wanted and the abuse of staff time handling the
reserves), one does run the risk of losing a ton of material if you
encounter what we called "The Evil Patron."  We are in a fairly urban
area.  A single individual managed to get multiple cards at various
libraries in our consortium and the two other larger city and county
systems near us.  He would steal official looking mail from someone's
mailbox to use as ID claiming he didn't have his driver's license
because he had tickets.  Using multiple names (but often the same birth
date, which is one way we linked up the various records) he would go
around checking out however many DVDs were allowed at various libraries
then sold them, one presumes for drugs.  Thousands of dollars of DVDs
vanished this way across our area.  So perhaps a reasonable limit on the
number of AV materials a single individual can have is not such a bad
idea.

 

That said, the real reason we limit the number to 6 DVDs and 6 popular
CDs at a time is staff time since we double-house both. What a pain (and
checking them all for damaged and/or missing parts adds to the joy).  AV
certainly does present challenges, yet it is over a quarter of our
circulation so obviously is in high demand.

 

Linda V. Ballard

Director, University City Public Library

6701 Delmar Blvd.

University City MO 63130

314.727.3150; fax, 314.727.6005

 

"Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will
get you through times of no libraries." Anne Herbert, The Whole Earth
Catalog

 

 

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