[Grovenet] Re: library fines

[Eric Canon]

Thanks for broadening our view of this issue
Katie. Very helpful!

I come at this from a different perspective. If
you have a library director like Colleen Winters,
who has been here how many years (15-20???), and
has a clear track record of success after
success, wouldn't we be wise to follow her
guidance? She certainly has the full story. She
says that the best course is no fines. End of
discussion for me.

For Joy's benefit (and another big plus for
Forest Grove here), our library is super. Please
correct me if I'm wrong, but our library has
something like 1000 people who volunteer or are
active supporters. It's a real live ongoing
community event! We are right in the middle of an
expansion, brought to us by a community expansion
campaign which raised a million bucks as Katie
said. Not only is Colleen the very best director
we could ever hope for, but she attracts gifted
people to her staff at every turn. 

They do programs for our kids that draw huge
crowds. If I need a book and it's not in our
library, it's no problem to bring it in from
Montana (one I needed came from there) or
wherever, at no charge to the borrower. They give
us access to the books at Pacific University,
too.

To get back to my point, it is sometimes best to
follow the leader. In Colleen we have a leader
who deserves our respect and gratitude. She
really does know what's best for our library. She
sees the big picture. 

--- allnutt <allnutt at verizon.net> wrote:

> Yes it is amazing that a library exists
> somewhere without over due fines. 
> So far it has been one of those things that
> makes Forest Grove unique, 
> though it remains to be seen how long we will
> remain fineless.