Keep Track of Library Books and Avoid Fines

by Mandi on January 24, 2012

source: Kristin Andrus

I’ve been blogging in this space — first Organizing Your Way and then Life Your Way — for over three years now, and there are some great posts in the archives that don’t get much attention anymore. This week, I’ll be sharing some of my favorites. Whether you’ve been around since the beginning or are a new reader, I think you’ll enjoy them!

I received an email from Karina yesterday with this question:

Have you done anything about how to organize library books and due dates to avoid late fees? I thought I had a system… was late on 2 videos last week (I knew that) and then discovered that I was ALSO late on about 12 books! I thought it was 2 videos and I was busy, plus kids were sick, so I just figured I’d shell out the fees. However, fees on 12 books and 2 videos 5 days late… well, let’s just say it’s not very frugal! Any suggestions?

Since I’m up to my eyeballs with the upcoming move to Life Your Way, I hadn’t started a post for today yet, and I thought this would make a great topic.

The only problem is that I rarely borrow books from the library because I’m so bad about returning them on time. Sad, but true.

That said, I’ve been brainstorming ways to get better at it myself because we have the cutest little small-town library with a great selection of kids books, and I’d like to take advantage of it more often. I have lots of fond memories of spending Saturday afternoons at the library with my dad, and I’d like to pass that on to my girls as well.

Here are 5 tips to help you avoid overdue library fines:

1.Keep a detailed list of the books you borrow.

One of the hardest part about borrowing from the library for us is that the books get scattered around the house. They’re taken to various bedrooms at naptime, brought along for a car ride, accidentally shelved with our personal collection, etc. If your library has an online system, it may keep track of the books you’ve borrowed automatically. If not, ask your librarian to print you a list when you check out or make a quick list yourself before the books get scattered.

2. Create a home for your library books.

A list helps, but ideally, you should create a dedicated place for library books to live when they’re not being read. This might be a dedicated shelf, a basket in the family room or a tote bag by the front door. The key is to put the books back each and every time they’re read so that the pile is always ready to be returned. This will make it much easier to gather up the books to be returned so that it’s not such a hassle.

3. Go to the library regularly.

Another trick for returning library books on time and avoiding late fees is to simply go to the library regularly and commit to returning the previously borrowed books each time you go. Having a variety of books with different due dates just increases your chances of being late on some of them, and like anything else, creating a routine will make it easier on everyone.

4. Return books early.

Rather than holding books until the last day, get into the habit of returning them well before their due dates. When you set reminders or mark the date on your calendar, set it a week before the books are due. It’s kind of like setting your clock ahead by 5 minutes — even though you know you’ve done it, it offers a cushion so that you can avoid being late.

5. Get techy with it.

It’s one thing to be able to find the books you’re looking for, but you may still need to be reminded of the due dates. Set up reminders on your online or desktop calendar to send you alerts by email as the due date approaches. Or subscribe to a service such as Library Elf (or Library Books if you have a Mac) for reminders and other tracking.

Do you visit the library regularly? What do you do to avoid fines and lost books?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Veggiemomof2

Our library prints off a receipt that tells what we got & when it’s due. I put the receipt in my planner clipped to the date the 1st item is due back. I can also access my library account online & renew stuff as long as no one else has a hold on that item. I have our library bag hanging on the doorknob of the coat closet so once we finish a book, it goes in the bag.
renee @ FIMBY

We go to the library each week and library books is how we homeschool. Finding a routine or groove that works for you is key to staying organized with it. Having a regular library day is how I make sure we don’t get behind on library books. I have more tips in this post (it’s homeschool related but can be adapted to family life in general):
http://simplehomeschool.net/how-to-use-the-library-in-your-homeschool/
ellen

Our library has a fantastic online system, which I use all the time. In fact, I browse almost exclusively online, chose my books, and have them sent to my branch for pickup.

My favorite feature is that they email me three days before a book is due back as a ‘friendly reminder’. It’s perfect.
Maria Wagner

1. Mark the due date on a calendar/planner.
2. Like the point above, know what books you took out. I would HIGHLY suggest for you to start a brand new notebook/binder dedicated to this. Include monthly calendar inserts and lined paper. Each time you come home from the library, write all the titles of the books on the lined paper (remember to date it!). Then, write the titles AGAIN in the box of the due date. Remember to keep this binder/notebook in your library book bag. This way, every time you finish a book or put it back in the bag, take a look at the entries and you will know when a book is due!
http://twitter.com/sunnygirlsf sunny girlsf

I use Library Elf and it’s GREAT! My library has a three-day grace period but I forget about that and when Library Elf emails me that I have a book overdue, I rush it to the library. I love Library Elf updates. I haven’t paid a fine in awhile!

Between Library Elf and my checking my library account online to renew items and check on a hold’s status, I’ve figured out a system that works.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QLNV32HALR4JBEG3VNDXTCK6S4 Lori Alexander

Some great ideas here in the comments already.

I have made some extra large bookmarks for our Library books. They have the name of our library as well as “please do NOT put on the bookshelf” to help keep them from getting lost in our own books. I decorated them with book/school stickers, then laminated them to help them last longer.

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

I love this idea, Lori — thanks so much for sharing!

Miss_afb

i like the way you used them on the calanders i would use mine for counting the days the kids are good so they can get a reward
http://impressyourkids.org lmilla

oh my goodness! I love address stamps!!! I would so use the Rudolph set for our Christmas return addresses!
http://impressyourkids.org lmilla

I like them on FB!!!
http://www.longaberger.com/maryjanehiggins MaryJane Higgins

I entered the giveaway and also ordered from the company. No coupon code for the free alignment tool or 25% off. I put a note on my order so I hope they come through with that part of the deal.

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

Thanks for letting me know, MaryJane — we’ll check on it on our end as well!

Carmen

I would love to have an address stamp. We get plenty of free return address labels, but they are in various places in the house, and I haven’t found a neat way of storing them!
Angela Bowe

I put the dates on my computer calender and our library emails us when they are coming due within a few days.
Missmuppet

Here in England the library emails you a reminder a few days before your books are due to be returned and gives you the option to renew online if you aren’t going to make it back in time. It’s saved me from several fines!
Glennis Griner

I use the Library Elf as well as receive notifications of new books from our library. However, we are ten miles from town so I also put a note of books due on our ‘go to town’ day that falls before the due date. At $3.50 a gallon for gas we retired folks have to save by limiting our travel.
Rana

It’s funny since this post we have made a designated home on some built in shelves in the living room just for library books. No more late fees for us!
http://wilson-family-adventure.blogspot.com/ Wilson Family Adventure

I’m a huge fan of #5. I wouldn’t know what the heck is due when, without my reminders and logging onto the library system to review due dates.
http://joyceandnorm.wordpress.com Joyce and Norm

I love our library!! We go every week. I used to go on different days but it was too hard to track which book was due on which day. Now it’s the same day every week. We can check out books for 3 weeks at a time and other media for 1 week at a time. They can be renewed 2 more times after that, unless there’s a hold. We have a specific place for them so that they don’t get mixed up with the other books. Our library also do the emails that remind us when books are due. I put books into our library bag the night before to return. I’ve also tried to limit the number of books we check out. It is so tempting to use get everything. I have it set to around 20 books on my card and 20 on my older daughters. Whatever number we return is the number we can check out. You can also check out other books the next time around. During December our library also joined with the local food bank to help people erase fines from their account when they bring canned food and other non-perishables. I think they got over 1,400 pounds of food.
MomOfFour

Our library gives us a print out with due dates when we check books and we have the option of an online account where we can place holds, renew and check our due dates – I have to check almost every day or I will end up with something late and yes it adds up fast.
Heamind

Library Elf works great for us. We use many books for school so we may have 70+ books out at one time. We wouldn’t be able to keep up otherwise and we track 10 cards between 2 library systems.