Friday, November 28, 2008

The Fine Print

Have you read the back of your library card lately? It says, “By signing this card, I agree to:

· Accept the responsibility for all fines incurred
· Pay for damaged or lost materials
· Report promptly loss or theft of the card or change of address

Too many people under appreciate the value of their library card. It can take you further than any credit card and allow you to travel not just around the world, but also into the past or future depending on what you read.

People also take for granted the responsibility of a card. Tax dollars are used to purchase our materials. When a customer damages a book and refuses to pay, it is like destroying your neighbors’ property. Customers ARE responsible for the safe keeping of our materials. When a book is damaged you should be expected to pay to have it replaced.

A previous boss taught me that when renting a car, always take a walk around and look for damage. Many of our customers do the same with our books and that is OK. We appreciate it and mark our records accordingly so that when the book is returned you are not charged for the material.

Please value your library card and the materials you check out.

Horror Films or "Tell Us What You Want"

A customer recently wrote, “Can you please have a better selection of horror movies that are current. I find that when it comes to new horror releases, New City Library just doesn’t keep up.”

I just finished an article, based on informal interviews on 20 things librarians would like customer’s to know. Near the top is that we want to hear what you want from us. We welcome customer suggestions for improving our collection.

In purchasing films on DVD we have limited funds and try to do our best in purchasing all types films our customers want. In deciding to purchase materials we consider how well a film is reviewed by authoritative review sources. We also look at box office sales in deciding if we want to 1 copy or 6 copies. People vote with their money and if a movie is popular at the box office it is going to be popular with our customers.

In regards to horror films in particular the AV Collection Development specifically, states, “Even though a particular title may not have received a very favorable review, it is purchase for our collection because patrons have previously ask for these types of movies, such as in the horror genre.”

So the short answer is thank you for your suggesting and we will be looking a little closer at buying more current horror films. Please continue to let us know what we can do to be the best library possible.