March 16, 1995
It was a harmless library fine, a cheap inconvenience. The library sent a two-week notice. The warning signs came and went. Another notice from the cashiers office, but still no payment was made.
It's the government's turn to try, and it has a foolproof plan.
Now, the California State Franchise Tax Board will deduct the fine from an offender's tax return.
However, if a student doesn't file a state tax form, the school has another way of enforcing collection.
According to the Evaluations Department, which processes applications for admissions and graduation, if a student has any overdue library books or outstanding fines, SF State will not release his or her transcripts.
The offending student will be able to participate in graduation ceremonies and receive a diploma, but without the transcripts the diploma is just a scrap of paper.
Ed Little, supervisor of circulation services, said SF State's J. Paul Leonard Library generates more than $100,000 in fines of overdue material every year.
Because the money never goes directly back to the library, it has no incentive to charge the maximum fine of $1. Instead it charges 25 cents.
According to Assistant University Librarian Linda Dobb, all the library wants back are the books.
Jim Van Ness, SF State's internal auditor, said Library fines are budgeted by the state as general reimbursements.
This means when the fines are collected, they are given back to the state, along with other miscellaneous funds. Once collected, the funds will be budgeted into SF State's expenditure plan which gives money indirectly back to the library.
Even though the library charges only a fraction of what it could, 25 cents is still too high a price for some to pay.
"Ten cents a day would be a little better," said junior James "Gus" Fuller. "C'mon, we're already paying a lot of money to go here. I mean, there's a whole bunch of books in there and it's not like everyone is dying to check out books."
According to Little, the fact is, the library circulates approximately 300,000 books a year.
"What I don't like is when students get a notice saying somebody else wants their books and they just hold on to it," Dobb said.