In fact there are things you can do to reduce or even eliminate future overdue fines. Here are some questions and tips for you to consider the next time you visit us:

• Do you keep your date due slips? Don't discard your date due slips, even if you believe you'll finish a book long before it's due. Things happen, and you may unintentionally hold a book (video, tape, etc.) out longer than planned. If you sense this might be the case, come to the library as soon as possible with your borrowed items and your library card and request a renewal. Refer to your date due slips regularly to determine how long you have for each item, and remember there are two-week books and three-week books as well as other items of varying borrowing periods. Click here for a list of borrowing periods.

• Are you taking out the right books? When book report or research paper time comes around, are you spending enough time selecting which books will be useful in your research before taking them out? You should allow yourself enough time to select books for your research. Our reference librarians are always eager and ready to assist you selecting materials for your papers, and Reference should be your first destination when you're unsure about getting sources for your topic(s).

  For lengthy research projects, try to begin your research as early as possible and spend time selecting consulting with our Reference departments to make the most of our various collections and get the best (i.e. most current) information you can retrieve. The information you need may be on-line (through one of our licensed databases, on a CD, or on the Internet).

• Do you allow yourself enough time to read? Even at one hour a day or night or during your lunch period you can get through a relatively large book or audio tape. It's all in how you budget your spare time. Is there anything you're doing you could do a little less of to give yourself more time to read? Television steals much of our spare time. Could you do with a little less television? You needn't restructure your entire day to come by some more time to read. Think about it and see what you can do to maximize your reading time.

• Do you renew books at the proper time? Often you can have two and three-week books out at the same time. When you renew these items, they will be renewed for an additional two or three weeks. Check over your date due slips to determine the due dates for each item and ask your questions concerning the date due of any item before leaving the library.

• Are you reserving too many titles at once?In the monthly rush to get in line for all the bestsellers you've read or heard about you may in fact be reserving too many items. How much is too much? Only you know. When two or three or four reserves come in at once, would that be too much? It happens more often than you think. Consider this the next time you place a hold.

• Do you allow other people to use your card? The Circulation department does not condone this practice and strongly recommends against it. When you apply and receive a card from the library, you are responsible for all items checked out on that card.

• Are you taking out too many videos? Videos produce the most overdue fines of all items in the library. In very little time you can accumulate huge fines when returning videos past their due dates. Videos go out for three days. Three videos overdue by one day generates a fine of $3.00; in two days, the fine's $6.00, and in three it's $9.00. Although you should be mindful about all your borrowed items, you should be particularly aware of your video's due date or else be prepared to pay a relatively substantial fine.

• Have you checked to see how many hours there are to a book on tape you're checking out? Some audio books consist of ten or more tapes. Compare the total duration of the cassettes with the three-week loan period for these items--three weeks, 21 days, a tape or two a day.... Will you have enough time?

• Do you commute? Does your car have a cassette player? Many people listen to books on tape while commuting to and from work.

• You do know new books only go out for two weeks, don't you? Most new books are clearly marked 14 Days on the spine of the book. Any books borrowed from the area in front of the Circulation desk go out for two weeks and, in the case of bestsellers, are likely to be on reserve by the time you return to the library and attempt to renew them.

• Lost your date due slip? Don't panic. You can always check when your books are due by coming to the library with your library card and accessing your account through the Public Access Catalog. It's a quick and easy way to ensure you will return your books on time. The next time you take items out, store your date due slips in a safe place, somewhere you'll remember to look.

• Have a lot of fines on your card? No problem! We're sympathetic to whatever situation lead you to having such overdue fines, and you can pay a little at a time each time you come into the library. Unfortunately you won't be able to check out books until your account is back in good standing, but the good news is you need not pay all at once, although we highly recommend it. In order to check out items you must pay at least half of the total amount of fines owed each time you come to the library.

• Did you know we accept credit cards? Well, we do. We also accept personal checks. The first thing you should do in any overdue situation is return all items checked out on your card. This "freezes" the fee to the day the items were returned late. If you do not return your items, fines may increase dramatically, making an already bad situation worse. The sooner you resolve your account, the sooner you can enjoy full borrowing privileges at Middletown Thrall Library.