They really do arrest you.

This lady came into the building today to settle some unpaid fines. Actually, she had a book she hadn't paid for. From 1999 or so.

Now, on the surface, this isn't really such a big deal. In the great scope of life, one piddly little book doesn't really mean a whole lot. However, if you really think about it, library books are city property. They belong to everyone. So when a person checks out a library book and never brings it back. he sort of steals from the city. If someone decides to spill her frappuccino with whipped cream and drizzled caramel topping on a library book, she has defaced city property.

If you or someone you know decides to steal something that is already free (or are just too damn lazy to return a book, even after a year or 10), we send you a letter or an email to ask you to bring it back. If you don't listen, a couple weeks later we call you and say, "Hey, it happens, you have some overdue stuff. Just drop it off." When you ignore us again, we send another letter pretty much telling you that your stuff is assumed to be lost and you have to pay for it. Then, if you are so bold as to ignore THAT, we send you a certified letter and take you to court. You stole.

Now, lots of times, people magically find these lost items. Or they find their way into the library and pay. Thing is, once a court date is set, you sort of have to go to court. You can't just ignore that. It's frowned upon. And not only do you waste the judge's time (and the library's time and the city's time), but they also put a bench warrant out for you. That means when you get pulled over for speeding, they can arrest you. For a library book.

Enter patron. Let's call her Jane. Several years ago, Jane checked out a book. An atlas of flowers or some such. Long story short, Jane never brought said book back. She ignored our attempts to remedy the situation, ignored the certified letter and court date. When Jane was pulled over for speeding, the officer saw the bench warrant. Jane was arrested. She had to spend the night in jail because she couldn't post bail.

So today Jane decides to come into the library and tell us it was quite an inconvenience to be arrested. To her credit, she didn't really scream or yell. She did however deny being sent correspondence regarding the lost item. Jane also requested we take into account the bail she posted and lower her debt. (We don't do that either.)

Moral of the story: Libraries really are there to help you. They are amazing resources, whether you are reading for fun, doing research, renting movies and music, checking email away from home, looking for a job... They are free. Does one honestly need to abuse that privilege? Are people like Jane too lazy to just bring a book back? Or I get it. Maybe Jane was very busy. For 10 years.