Books are amazing things. They can take people to different worlds and take them on a roller coaster ride of emotions, all within the first few chapters. Libraries house thousands of books. Every year approximately 35 percent of Americans ages 16 and older used their public library in the past year. In schools every student will visit their high school library at least once in their high school career.
“I go to the library frequently. I love to read books. Every now and then I lose a book though,” junior Mashayla Peterson said.
Every student enrolled in an English class will have a book that is required to read for class. Students check out their mandatory reading book and maybe a book for pleasure as well. It takes a while to get through a required reading book. Eventually, a student might get a pink slip. That means his or her book is overdue and he or she needs to return it, but what happens when they can’t find it?
“We have a lot of students lose their books each year. It adds up to about $1500 each year,” paraeducator Tammy Lebeau said.
So what is being done about all this? When students lose a book they get fined for it. The library doesn’t necessarily get that money though. The collected money goes into the general fund which is then distributed to each department in the yearly budget.
“If there’s one book you don’t want to lose, it’s The Sound and the Sense. It’s worth about $75,” said the high school librarian Faye Friesen.
If too many of the same book are lost, there will not be enough for everyone in the class. Sometimes people pay their fine and other times they don’t. What some people don’t realize is that fines can follow them throughout high school. So, if people want to graduate, they need to turn in library books or pay fines.
