Even if you don’t own a Monopoly™ set, you may have a “Get Out of Jail Free” card you don’t know about. What am I talking about? I’m talking about overdue library books and the Amnesty Program.
All too many people have overdue library books. In most cases, this is not a case of trying to misappropriate the library’s property. The books were retained, instead of being returned, for relatively innocent reasons.At worst, it was a case of laziness…not getting around to returning the book before it became overdue and the fines started piling up. Or the book may have been misfiled into your bookshelves along with books that are legitimately yours, by someone in a hurry or simply doing a whirlwind job of tidying up without examining. Or the book may have been misplaced in your house somewhere where you wouldn’t expect to look for it or see it, at which point one of two things happened: 1 – You knew it was due back at the library, but a diligent search failed to turn it up, or 2 – “Out of sight, out of mind”—not seeing the book during your daily routine, you forgot all about it and didn’t even remember you owed the library a book.
By the time the book turned up—perhaps during a round of thorough cleaning or spring cleaning, during packing for a move, rearranging furniture, cleaning up a cluttered shelf, or after a search subsequent to an overdue book notice from the library—it was so terribly overdue that the fine exceeded the cost of the book itself, or at least exceeded what you could comfortably pay. So you guiltily hung on to it.
Did you ever hear of the Library Amnesty Program? Many libraries periodically hold an Amnesty Week (or Amnesty Days), during which library patrons in possession of books (or other library materials) that are overdue can return them without paying a fine.
That’s your “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
If you are aware that you have a library book in your home (or office, or car) that should have been returned before this—maybe even a long time before this—I urge you to call your library and ask if they have an Amnesty Program and, if so, when it is in effect.
You can clear your record and clear your conscience by returning the book so that other library patrons can once again have the pleasure of reading it. And all without paying one red cent!
Isn’t that great?
What are you waiting for?