How does it work?
You can return an item ANYTIME after its due date. If you return the item within 21 days after its due date, you will not be charged at all.
If the item is 21 days overdue, you will receive a bill for the cost of the item, plus the expense of cataloging its replacement (aka processing fees). If you return the original item within 21 days of receiving your bill, and it is in good condition, your charges MAY BE WAIVED. If your item is damaged, lost, missing, or stolen, please contact the library’s Public Services department by visiting the Checkout Desk or calling the library and pressing 2 on the menu. Staff will make every reasonable effort to help you pay off your debt.
If the item is 42 days overdue, and you owe $25 or more, your account will be sent to Unique Management, a collection agency that specializes in library billing. For a $10 fee, Unique will take over the recovery of library expenses. You MAY STILL RETURN the original item in good condition to have all fees waived except Unique’s $10 fee, which can be recouped by the library no other way.
The Daviess County Public Library has used the Unique Management collection agency for many years. Unique specializes in recouping library expenses for a fee of $10 per account. This fee is passed to the responsible patron. Unique NEVER REPORTS delinquent accounts to credit monitoring services, and it WILL NOT GARNISH wages or assistance funds. Unique only provides billing services for the library.
REMEMBER, THE LIBRARY WANTS TO HELP YOU RESOLVE OUTSTANDING FEES!
Visit the Checkout Desk or call (270) 684-0211 and press 2 on the menu.
Fine Free FAQ
“Fine free” means the library will never charge you overdue fines. However, you will be charged to replace lost, stolen, missing, or damaged items. An item is considered lost if it is not returned 21 days after it is due.
Most library patrons return their materials on time, or shortly after the due date. Overdue fines are not necessary for library operations and create an unnecessary burden on patrons.
By shortening the amount of time an overdue item is considered lost from 45 days to 21, the library can replace the unreturned item faster and assure that more patrons can borrow it.
Unique Management is a collection agency that handles billing services for the library. Unique will NEVER report you to credit monitoring services or garnish your wages or government assistance funds.
Unique simply bills accounts owing $25 or more for 21 days or more. Unique charges $10 per account, which is added to the account’s outstanding balance.
No. Unique Management and the library will NEVER REPORT you to a credit monitoring agency. Their only goal is to recoup the expense of replacing damaged, lost, missing, or stolen items.
All items can be borrowed for 21 days. The only exception is a YMCA pass, which can be borrowed for 14 days.
The purpose of the 21-day checkout time is to simplify due dates. It’s true that the checkout time for books with no holds has been shortened by 7 days. However, the checkout time for books with holds has increased from 14 days to 21. And the amount of time you can borrow a mobile hotspot or a movie has tripled, from 7 days to 21.
The library will automatically renew the item for you up to 2 times, as long as it is not on hold and is eligible for renewal. Typically, you will be able to keep an item for up to 63 days without having to do anything.
The library has used Unique Management for many years. Unique Management provides billing services for countless libraries across North America. For a $10 fee, Unique will take over the job of recovering fees for materials that are damaged or never returned, saving the library money and valuable staff time.
In the majority of instances, no. The library is entrusted with community resources and will take every reasonable measure to make them available to all. Public Services staff will exhaust all efforts to work with responsible patrons to recoup items that have not been returned, in a way that benefits everyone.
On the very rare occasion that the library has determined that an individual has taken or borrowed items from the library with the willful intent to keep them, the library may work with authorities to prosecute the individual using the Kentucky statute KRS 514.030.