Library fines start small, pile up

With more than 3 million books circulating throughout Pitt’s University Library System and… With more than 3 million books circulating throughout Pitt’s University Library System and about 17,000 undergraduates alone, a book or two is bound to turn out missing every so often.

Whether a student loses or simply forgets he or she has borrowed a book at all, the ULS expects its items back. The consequence of not returning books on time results in an ordinary library fee, but with a great enough fine the library is forced to take further action with some students by handing the bills over to Pitt’s Financial Services.

The ULS does not discriminate by class year when looking for its allocated fines and overdue items from students.

“Starting the first day a book is overdue, students begin to receive e-mails to let them know what and how much is owed,” Crystal Ware, staff member at the ULS, said.

The e-mail-notification system began last year as a substitute for the outdated paper policy of sending letters in the mail. If after the array of e-mails the student still does not pay his overdue book fine, the bill continues to rise.

After a seven-day grace period to return the book without a fine, each overdue item is charged 25 cents per day retroactive to the original due date. This 25-cent charge continues every day until the book is returned.

In addition, the website states that when an item is 45 days overdue, a final notice is sent and the user’s circulation privileges are suspended until the item is returned or the lost book is paid for.

Ann McLeod, head of Hillman Access Services, put a price on the hefty fines that can build up for students.

“There’s a $100 maximum fine students can reach after 25-cents-per-day fees,” McLeod said. “After that, students are charged with a lost book, which includes the $100 maximum fine, a $25 processing fee and $100 replacement fee, totaling $225. If the items are returned thereafter, the fine changes back to 25 cents per day.”

Students who stubbornly refuse to pay their library fines undergo harsher policies until they pay the school.

“If a student reaches $35 in overdue library fines, the account might be sent to the Collections at the University’s Financial Services. From there, Collections follow its normal collection policy to get the unpaid fines,” Ware said.

Once Collections receives the student’s unpaid fines, the office begins its process for any outstanding bill at the University. “We place a hold on the student’s account, so they are not able to register for classes, among other things,” Joanne Stumme, director of University Collections, said. “Then we contact the student by phone and place the bill in his account.”

A further action can occur to students who, despite warnings for months, have yet to pay their outstanding fines.

“Students with a large amount of unpaid library fines after an extended period of time may be referred to an outside collection agency, like the Pennsylvania collection agency for higher education,” Stumme said. “This isn’t an automatic step, as many factors go into the decision to send it outside Pitt’s Collections office.”

Seniors are not able to bypass the library fines upon graduation either, as they continue to be contacted by either the library or Collections.

“Students who graduate with unpaid fines are able to graduate, but their diploma is withheld until the fines are paid off,” Stumme said.

Seniors’ accounts that have not been referred to Financial Services are still contacted by the ULS as well.

“We don’t know what year students are when they take books out, since they could graduate early or be grad students,” McLeod said. “Therefore, we treat all students, graduated or not, the same and continue to contact them by e-mail until the items are returned and fines are paid.”