Windsor seems like a rule-abiding place with a level of Canadian-style civility that reinforces faith in humanity's general goodness.
So the public library chief executive assumed it could rely on trust rather than penalties for overdue borrowers.
Nearly two years later, an internal study says the idea flopped. And the guy behind the policy is a former CEO.
"If there’s no incentive to bring things back, some people simply won’t," the library's new board chair says. (Facebook photo)
Brian Cross of The Windsor Star reports on the reality check. "Failure" is in the head atop his article, which can be summarzied in four words: What was he thinking?
The library has lost about $200,000 in fines it would otherwise have collected since the pilot started Jan. 1, 2012. . . .
In addition, many more items are being returned late, because there are no consequences. Many more library materials are going missing. And customers who place holds on items have to wait and wait because the people who have them face no penalty for returning them late.
The library's citywide experiment in social responsibility shows that playing nice sounds better than it works. Readers and video borrowers in the Ontario city can be as lazy, forgetful or inconsiderate as people pretty much anywhere.
Here's what new board chairman Peter Frise tells The Star:
“It’s a very inefficient way to do things. If there’s no incentive to bring things back, some people simply won’t.
"And that’s exactly what we found and that’s why this (no-fine) system isn’t used at other library systems.
"I don’t know what the motivation was. We’ve been unable to locate any plans or studies that indicated this was a good idea. It was just something they thought was a good idea and it has not been a success.”
After he and board colleagues discuss the report Tuesday, a policy of No More Mr. Nice Guy likely will be adopted. The report delivered Friday suggests a 30-cent-a day fine for adults, Cross reports in the local daily.
