Were the books you had pas due? And, if so, did you pay the fines for them? To get a bench warrent you have to have them out for like a really long time!

You get a week's grace period, they were out for a month 14 days of which I spent at home with swine flu. The rest of the days I mostly spent at home in a depressive funk when I wasn't ferrying my sister home from work. And really, I donated 90 some books to the library worth at least 300 bucks in August. You'd think they would have cut me some slack?

I did something very similar only it was a few months. My husband found them and told me you better return them or they will arrest you...A few days later I got the very same letter in the mail..Now I am not allowed to check books out...LOL

*gulit trip* reminds me I do have a couple of overdue books floating around here lol

Well, then, you should have had someone else take the books back for you. As for the book you donated, that's great, but it doesn't mean the library owes you a favor. Esentially the books you had were out of commision for a month and someone may have wanted them.

Really, I find it best just to buy the book I want to read as I don't have to deal with those deadlines. And any research I may need to do I do over the internet or when at a college university (for my studies.), otherwise, I avoid the library as I have my own here at home.

We have quit using the libraries as well because of this kind of thing. The fines are outrageous, we're not good at all at keeping track of when things are due, and in the end, we just end up racking up huge bills for something that was SUPPOSED to be FREE.

I figure there's something deeper here. Libraries must not be getting the kinds of funds from local and fed gov'ts like they used to, not to mention that I'm sure there's more shrink involved than there used to be.

Trouble is, cranking up the fines isn't doing a damn bit of good for the libraries. More and more avid book readers are just giving up on the library and buying books now. So, instead of stopping the shrink or raising more $ for the libraries, they're just promoting business for used and retail book stores. B. Franklin is just rolling in his freaking grave right now. I'm glad he's not here to see this. I think it would hurt.

are you in the states? my h got a strange call for payment on a ticket 20 years old... one of the states is selling off it's jails to the highest bidder... they have been doing some pretty weird shit in the name of money...

(to the library) "sold out your other like a cold blooded gangsta..."

too bad it sounds like you were the type of person the library would like to have as a loyal, considering you donate your old books.