Sanders says that she never received the late notices because she was frequently switching addresses, according to WILX. At that point, it’s considered theft of property, she said, noting that if mail isn’t able to be delivered, the library receives the returned mail. The library then continues mailing, texting or emailing at two weeks overdue, and again at one month and three months past the due date.Īt the fourth month, the library team sends a warning by certified mail stating, “If you don’t bring these materials back in two weeks, we will submit it to the Economic Crimes Unit,” Arras said. The unit – which handles cases involving failure to return rental property – outlines on its website that repeat offenders in such cases could face formal criminal prosecution.Ĭharlotte Community Library’s Director of Financial Services Marlena Arras told CNN that library privacy rules bar her from discussing individual account information with the public, but added that “there’s a lot of information that she (Sanders) is not providing.”Ĭharlotte Library rules dictate that when items are a week overdue, the library calls, texts or emails the person who checked them out, depending on the individual’s preference when they sign up for an account. “I really don’t think that going to jail over those two books is OK, and I definitely didn’t want to steal their property,” Sanders told WILX.ĬNN has reached out to Sanders and her attorney.Īfter Sanders neglected to return the library’s property after several months, the Economic Crimes Unit at the county prosecutor’s office conducted an investigation, Brentar said. There’s no way I have a warrant,” Sanders recalled to WILX.Ĭharlotte Police Department Chief Paul Brentar confirmed the arrest warrant to CNN and said Sanders is charged with failure to return rental property. When her boss said he was serious, “I was like, no, there’s no way. Sanders was in line to receive a promotion at her job, but her boss called her last week and said a background check revealed she had an open arrest warrant. Once Sanders located them on her son’s bookshelf and returned them, she figured she would be notified of the fees, she told the station. Melinda Sanders-Jones was told in person that her books were late when she was barred a few months ago from using a printer at Charlotte Community Library. The Charlotte, Michigan resident checked out two books from her local library in 2017, and says she didn’t know about the overdue fines until a few months ago, according to CNN affiliate WILX. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.A woman failed to return two public library books on time and was faced with an arrest warrant.
This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. And the American Dream is through our libraries.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. WALCOTT: That's the goal, to have our children participate in the American Dream. MARTIN: In Queens, 65% of blocked accounts belong to people who are 17 years old or younger, and that's exactly who libraries want to get in the doors. And that's exactly where we need people using the library. MARX: Those are vastly disproportionately in the poorest neighborhoods. There are 400,000 New Yorkers with blocked accounts because they owe more than $15 in late fees. INSKEEP: Now, this is meaningful because New York City is such a big place. But you won't owe any late fees on top of that. MARTIN: Plus, if you just totally lose a book, you'll still have to pay the library back for it. I know that seems like a very non-New York way of thinking, but we see it. Almost all the books come back anyway because people respect that if they are treated with respect and trust, they respond in kind. TONY MARX: It turns out late fees for books don't work. Neither does Tony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library system. MARTIN: Actually, Walcott doesn't think so. But without any fines, would people take books and run? If, hypothetically, you had late fees at the library, if you hadn't brought back your library books for some reason and you live in New York City, you're in luck because the public libraries there are going fine free.ĭennis Walcott is the president of Queens Public Library, one of New York City's three public library systems.ĭENNIS WALCOTT: We want you in our libraries, and we want you using our resources that are available to you for free.
0 kommentar(er)
