Delinquent

 

Suzzallo Library Graduate Reading Room, University of Washington

I have actually been to this library.  Many years ago, in dire need of an outing, the spouse and I journeyed from our rural state college to the U of W to see what a city college could boast, and this is one of the buildings that struck me most.  It's not the Library of Congress, but it is still grand and inspiring.  Especially when compared to the cozy room "downtown" that I currently know as my local library.  

I love libraries.  I love how they universally value quiet, reading, and the gathering of information.  My chronically thrifty side loves that they are free of charge.  I love that they compile and publish book lists (I am a tremendous fan of book lists).  I love that they have story hours for little ones complete with puppets, colored scarves, and art projects.  I love that they let me check out fifty books per library card, and that they do not put a limit on how many books I can put on hold at a time.

What I do not love is my near-constant status as "Delinquent" in my local library system.  "Delinquent" implies so many negative things -- guilt, negligence...failure.  

Because I reside in an area in which actual monetary fines are not incurred for library items returned after their due date, I am convinced that the Powers-that-Be have devised this delinquent status as a way to make me feel as rotten as possible about not finishing my thirteen books on feng shui decorating in the allotted three weeks given me.  Sometimes I can get an extension on my loan time.  But oftentimes, someone else is already waiting for the stack of 1950 English Village fiction that I have checked out, or the Fablehaven series that the children have re-read three times already, and no extension is available.  It is at that moment that I receive my scarlet letter, my "D" for delinquent.  

As stated, there are no pecuniary consequences to my delinquent status.  The only time you actually have to pay for something is when it's a hardcover from the New Book shelf and your dog rips it to shreds in your absence.  This occurrence forces you to have to gather all the pathetic remaining bits of the book together in a clear plastic bag and explain to the mirthful clerk that yes, it's the same dog that victimized the last book, and no, you do not want to see the shelf on dog psychology.  

And being a delinquent does very much affect your borrowing privileges.  The status locks your online account so you cannot put any items on hold.  This is a major obstacle for me.  Being home as much as I am, I often hop online and put whole rafts of books on hold at a time, particularly if I'm in the midst of a new interest or if I'm finding books for the children to read.  

Finally, as if seeing the phrase USER IS DELINQUENT at every turn isn't bad enough for my guilty conscience, it is the children who apparently suffer the most from my failings in this area.  They have become so accustomed to my perpetual delinquency that they've taken to asking, "Mom, the next time you're not Delinquent, could you put the following seventeen titles on hold for me so I can read them oh, maybe before Christmas?"  

I always reply with great love, "Of course, darling sarcastic child of my heart.  Anything for you."