[Publib] Overdue notice language

[Conrad Rader]

My feeling is that a moment of whimsy needs to be looked at as a good
starting point.  I can see how some people could react unfavorably to the
notices, but as you say, if materials are coming back and patrons are
complaining, the glass-half-full part of me thinks you have accomplished
something and started a dialog where none may have been before.  It is very
easy to become complacent both as a librarian and as a patron about
procedures that have 'always been there' and 'work as long as you don't fix
it.'  

I was always dinged in school about the conversational tone of my work, and
that's the tone I hear when reading these notices.  I only really have an
issue with the second notice, where the language is a bit too pointed for my
taste, but as they say, context is everything.  If these notices appeared as
is, on a plain sheet of paper, I would react to them very differently than
if there was a nice, cartoon librarian with a voice bubble telling me the
same thing.  It would also be interesting if the second notice cartoon had a
frown, and the third shifted to a more serious, 'official' tone.  Again,
different contexts provide different mileage. 

I think the key to overdue notices lies in the relationship you have with
the community, specifically those who habitually overuse the resources of
the library.  If we were to exploit the power of our record keeping
software, I would track the number of times patrons received overdue notices
and switch to an even more serious tone of notice for habitual
over-borrowers, reserving the lighter notices for first time absent
mindedness.  If wishes were horses.  I'd use the same system to reward
people who brought back material early too, by generating credits against
overdue fines, but that's another argument entirely.

 

Conrad Rader

Niles District Library

Niles, MI

Behalf Of Janet Griffing
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 11:49 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Overdue notice language

 

Greetings, collective mind!

 

We've recently become an Innovative Interfaces library after years of
consortium membership. Among the many things over which we now have local
control is the creation and mailing of overdue notices.

 

In a moment of whimsy, I wrote the following notices. They are meeting with
some resistance on the part of staff and anger on the part of some
customers. Interestingly, though, the customers who are complaining are also
returning their overdue items! It's really hard to feel sorry for most
folks, since they can renew online or by phone, and we have 24-hour book
drop availability. 

 

I thought I'd throw the notice language out to all of you for comment. There
are three notices: Number 1 is sent when items are two weeks overdue; Number
2 at four weeks; and Number 3 at six weeks. (Regular loan period is two
weeks for books; one week for AV.) Please let me know what you think!
Thanks!

 

 

Number One:

Oops! You kept the following items longer than you promised. Please return
them as soon as possible. Thank you!

 

Number Two:

 

Well, we asked politely the first time, but we still don't have your overdue
items, and every day the fines keep adding up. It's not fair not to share -
others are waiting! Please return your materials now, and you'll only have
to pay the fines. Keep them longer, and we will be sending a bill.

 

Number Three:

 

We hoped it wouldn't come to this, but you've had these library materials
for so long, we need to bill you for them. If you return them immediately,
you only have to pay the fines and any additional processing fees. Why pay
for something that should be free? Please return your items today!

 

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