[Publib] Loan rules

[kathy Berggren]

Help me out here folks -- brainstorming time.  I'm currently at war with one
of my department heads over limits on the number of AV items that can be
checked out at one time.  His argument is that it is not good customer
service to have empty shelves.  When patrons come in to check out a
currently released DVD, they don't want to have to wait a month to get it.
Therefore, we should limit patrons to 3-4 DVDs at one time, particularly for
the newer titles.

My argument is two-fold.  I eliminated shorter checkout times a couple of
years ago because I had issues with AV items having shorter checkout times
and higher fines than printed material when most of the printed materials
cost more.  The same holds true for me on this issue.  If I don't limit the
number of books you can check out, whether they are new or not, why would I
limit the number of AV items?  And secondly, why am I limiting the number of
items a patron can checkout if I am so out of shelving space that I'm
constantly weeding?

Your thoughts please.