The Five Stages of Grief: The Library Version

After I get the pleasure of informing a patron of a library fine, the situation usually goes one of two ways.

The patron pays the fine, or the patron progresses through the five stages of grief.

1. Denial: "What? That's not possible. I always bring my books back on time. This is obviously a mistake on your part. I remember the day I brought the books back. It was a Thursday...there is NO way I have a fine."

2. Anger: "You know, this isn't the first time you've been wrong. One time the library said I didn't return a book then someone FOUND IT ON THE SHELF.  No one told me I had a fine. I wasn't notified. And now I have to pay this fine before I can check anything else out? That's completely unreasonable. Is there anyone else I can talk to?"

3. Bargaining: "Come one, now. I've never had a fine before. Can I just check these movies out and worry about the fine later? Give me a break. I just remembered that my child was sick with the flu that day. And there was a snowstorm. And my wallet was stolen. One thing I always appreciate about the library staff is how understanding they are..."

4. Depression: "This day just keeps getting worse. Everything is going wrong. And now I have a library fine. How much is it again? Ugh. Why does this always happen to me? Why is everything going wrong?"

5. Acceptance: "Fine. You know what? I had better just pay it. Here you go: $7.25."

All right, it's not that bad. Out of all of our patrons, only a few have real problems with paying their fines. Most are matter-of-fact about it. They understand that the library is awesome because it's free. They're getting free material, with the understanding that they'll cough up a few dollars if they take advantage of the system and don't return things on time.

But once in a while I get to deal with the patrons who think the library is out to get them. This blog post is dedicated to them.