Going to the Library Could be Dangerous

If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’m all in favor of kids reading—at home, at school, while waiting in the dentist’s office, even on vacations. And I support parents and grandparents reading to kids, even kids who are old enough to read to themselves.

So naturally I was pleased to read that Claude DaCorsi, a management consultant in Portland, Oregon, had been encouraging his children to check out books from the local library.

Sadly, Claude has now forbidden his children to go to the library. He will only allow them to go to Barnes and Noble.

Seems some library books didn’t get returned, and Claude racked up a $40 fine. The library, annoyed about all the unpaid library fines that Claude and other patrons were ignoring, hired a collection agency to get the money. The collection agency then reported the unpaid library fines to credit bureaus.

And Claude, who boasted an excellent credit rating, now found his rating had tumbled to below average.

But here’s what I don’t get. Why not pay the fine, continue going to the library, and make sure all library books are returned? Couldn’t you just jot down the return date in your Daytimer or electronic gizmo?  Wouldn’t that be cheaper than buying books at Barnes and Noble?

Oh yes, forgot to mention that one of the tardy books was a picture book that Claude’s two-year-old son checked out. Since when would even the most precocious two-year-old be counted on to return his own library book. Perhaps Claude should have taken on this responsibility.