Since the "holiday season" is pretty much past us, now would be a prime time to add another post to my blog.

No one has added any comments, so this blog is pretty much an online journal for myself, and... well, myself. I enjoy being able to do this, since it's a "new" item of technology for me.

Having been a school library media specialist for approximately three months now, I feel that ample time has passed, and enables me to speak about a topic that many feel is indecent, even obscene.

Overdue books and fines. There. I said it. Well, technically, I typed it, but I guess for our purposes, it's all the same here.

What is really the purpose of fining a library patron for an overdue book? Doesn't that set a tone of negativity for those who enjoy the printed word? Why is it necessary to require someone to pay hard-earned money for a book that they kept longer than their twenty-eight days?

This is probably a highly-debated issue among those who make their living in the library setting, but I feel that it's one that's the most hated.

Wouldn't it make better sense to ask (let's not require anyone to do anything) the patron to donate food to a basket that the library staff drops off monthly to a local food bank? Or maybe the patron could assist in shelving for an hour for the offense?

In today's day and time, there are much more important issues at hand in which we can be involved. Far be it from me to admonish anyone for anything they have done that I disagree with; until I have "walked a mile in his moccasins," I don't understand for a second where a person is coming from.

Here's hoping that each and every one of us enjoy peace in the new year! God be with our troops that are overseas; protect them, and bring them home safely to us.