Another rather good Twilight themed t-shirt (also not "...and then Buffy staked Edward. The end." Which remains my very favourite.)

Edward before he was sparkly...

Sophia I'm a bad library patron and I've run up large fines before.

The library forgave one of the fine the first time it was really big, they offered to do it. Then I discovered that when I got a library card (after not having gone for so long) they misspelled my last name in the computer and after almost a year when I used my ID to check out I discovered there was a fine that was years and years old. That one they didn't forgive but I was able to pay it off gradually. I think every time I checked out books I made a small payment on it.

That one was books that I hadn't returned and since lost. Probably 5 books and the fine was like $90.

And THAT, right there, is why I do not use libraries. Much as I approve of them.

Thank yo askye. I haven't returned yet, but I will on Monday or Tuesday.

The Buffistas, as a group, would make a fascinating sociological study for librarians.

I can do the library when I get in the groove. Right now, I'm all caught up with fines, and I'm going regularly because I'm taking Sara for the program once a week, and being able to renew online is making a HUGE difference.

The problem for me is when I slip up and keep something late. I'll always return my books, but at that point, like, in the dead of night, in the book drop. And then I don't want to pay the fine, or I can't afford to pay the fine, and it becomes a Whole Big Thing.

The best thing ever is when my library started sending email alerts when things were coming due. That's saved my bacon more than once.

They also have an online request system. Part of the fun of going to the library for me is browing and finding something I've never heard of. That said, if I want to read a best-seller but don't want to buy it, the hold request is a thing of beauty. Thanks to that, I didn't have to spend any money to find out that I disliked "Twilight."

My library sends email alerts 3 days before they are due.

The library would have waived the long dormant fine except they'd already waived a fine that was almost the same amount so I couldn't get 2 waivers. Really it was my fault, I kept books and then lost them and never returned them so I was just paying the costs for replacing.

The library also has a policy that if you lose a book and pay for it and then find it within a year you can get your money back. Which happened to me a few months ago.

I go to the library every Sunday now. The parking is free and the crowd isn't too bad and I always know the day a book is due (even if I can't remember which Sunday). And Interlibrary Loan is free, I need to hit that up.

I saw the library had the latest Laurell K Hamilton AND the graphic novel, I wasn't even tempted to look at the summary of the book. I was there to pick up Patricia Briggs's latest about Mercy, I don't know if the series has a name. I like Mercy, it's nice that 1) she's not hung up/ashamed/freaked out about her abilities and 2) she's not hung up on/freaked out about sex. And I like her version of werewolves and vampires and fae.

I am OK in a groove, too. Also, finally the library is as close to me as it was when I was a child. As in, it would be no trouble to go every day as it is a 5 minute walk.

My problem is that I often bite off more than I can chew-- I want every book RIGHT THEN. So I take 20 books out and then the fines are astronomical for even a days lateness. And then they are so late that I can't possibly return them, except in the dead of night. And then I move, and they somehow get lost.

This is where I confess:

I work at the library. I take home one to three to 5 books every time I work. I always have somewhere between 20 and 50 books out.

It is not possible to read them all. They do add to the decor.

And now that I work at a library where the staff has to pay fines ... I have to give my job money 1 - 3 times a year so I can take out more books.