# Arrested for overdue library book **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907 "2013-11-02T03:57:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Flying\_Ghoti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Flying\_Ghoti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Ghoti)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/1 "2013-11-02T03:57:58Z")
A Texas man was arrested for not returning a library book that was due three years ago. From [http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/home/headlines/Copperas-Cove-Overdue-Library-Book-Ordinance-Can-Land-Patrons-in-Jail--229638241.html?device=phone#.UnCKz6w\_0lY.facebook](http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/home/headlines/Copperas-Cove-Overdue-Library-Book-Ordinance-Can-Land-Patrons-in-Jail--229638241.html?device=phone#.UnCKz6w_0lY.facebook) > [@](#): > > COPPERAS COVE (October 28, 2013) An ordinance adopted by the City of Copperas Cove could mean an arrest for patrons if they don’t return library materials. > > A recent case landed one man behind bars for a book he’d had checked out for more than three years. > > On Wednesday Jory Enck was booked into jail and released for overdue library materials. > > Court documents show he checked out a GED study guide in 2010 and didn’t respond to attempts from the library to get the book back. > > City of Copperas Cove Municipal Judge Bill Price said the patrons are usually released on a $200 bond after the arrest. > > Library policies show the patron must have the overdue book checked out for a minimum of 90 days and not respond to phone calls or emails from the library about the book before the municipal court is notified. > > Julie Lehmann with the Copperas Cove Police Department said if an officer makes a routine stop or encounters a patron with an active overdue library materials warrant on a call they will make the arrest. > > Price said in situations where library materials aren’t returned they usually try to let the civil process sort it out and if that doesn’t work a warrant is issued, which doesn’t result in a pleasant response from patrons. > > “Universal hatred, nobody wants to get arrested over a library book. The other side of that is people that go to our library and can’t have these materials, they’re put out too,” Price said. > > The ordinance was adopted by the city almost four years ago and still has some patrons feeling torn about the issue. > > “I guess that they have to have some way to enforce the rules at the library to return borrowed material, I think that’s a little extreme personally and I’ll certainly talk to the mayor to maybe get that changed,” Copperas Cove resident Clyde Glosson said. > > On Monday Enck did not respond to messages about the case, but a copy of a GED study guide like the one he checked out was back on the shelf. > > Enck’s library card was found inside the book and library records showed the book had been turned in the day after Enck’s arrest. I work in a public library in NJ and I’ve noticed that for some reason GED prep books rarely get returned. When I check one out to a patron I almost never see it again. I don’t think it’s out of some nefarious plan to keep the books; it’s just that most of the patrons who take them out (in my experience) aren’t regular library users, so they just forget about it. They usually get a library card on the same day they borrow the book, and then I never see them again. ASVAB prep books are even worse, but I guess the people who borrow those enlist and never get around to returning the book. In our library, all we can really do is try to contact the patron by phone, e-mail, and snail mail. If a patron owes more than $75 in replacement fees, we send them to a collection agency, which pretty much just calls and sends letters too. It might be nice to send the law after them. 😃 Not so much for the patrons who keep the odd book, but for the ones who take out dozens of DVDs with no intention of returning them. Side note: I like how the newscaster in the linked video pulls the GED prep book off the shelf in the fiction section. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/2 "2013-11-02T04:37:56Z")
Seriously messed up, and even more so because it was for a GED book. I understand that books aren’t free, but this is some petty bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/3 "2013-11-02T05:04:35Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Seriously messed up, and even more so because it was for a GED book. I understand that books aren’t free, but this is some petty bullshit. Yeah, I agree: It’s seriously messed up to keep a library book for three years, and ignore numerous phone calls and emails about it. Dude, it takes the threat of jail before you’re willing to give back what doesn’t belong to you? That is, indeed, some petty bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/4 "2013-11-02T06:10:11Z")
Only three years? I’ve got a book that was due back by July 23, 1984. I sometimes wonder what the fine would be for being almost 30 years overdue. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/5 "2013-11-02T09:10:09Z")
Some years ago, there was a big stink in one of the Bay Area cities (Oakland, IIRC? Or maybe San Jose?) when an elderly lady was arrested, booked, and _strip searched_ at the jail, all because she hadn’t renewed her dog’s annual dog license. It had been the police department’s policy to strip search _everyone_ they arrest. I think the outcome was, after this big stink, they revised that policy. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/6 "2013-11-02T13:02:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, I agree: It’s seriously messed up to keep a library book for three years, and ignore numerous phone calls and emails about it. Dude, it takes the threat of jail before you’re willing to give back what doesn’t belong to you? That is, indeed, some petty bullshit. The guy lost a book, he didn’t mug an old lady. The consequences for losing a book shouldn’t be getting arrested. A civilized and compassionate society would understand that a person is worth more than a used book. The person didn’t manage to graduate from high school, is it any wonder he may not be the most responsible person ever? At least he was trying to learn something, an activity I’d want no part of discouraging. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/7 "2013-11-02T13:47:18Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > The guy lost a book, he didn’t mug an old lady. The consequences for losing a book shouldn’t be getting arrested. A civilized and compassionate society would understand that a person is worth more than a used book. A civilized and compassionate society is only _possible_ when its members follow the rules and act responsibly. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/8 "2013-11-02T14:13:10Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > The consequences for losing a book shouldn’t be getting arrested. A civilized and compassionate society would understand that a person is worth more than a used book. The agreement he signed when he was issued his library card surely spelled out explicitly the process and consequences of borrowing a book and not returning it in a timely manner. That’s why _you’re supposed to read papers before you sign your name to them_. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Ghoti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Flying\_Ghoti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Ghoti)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/9 "2013-11-02T14:14:12Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > The guy lost a book, he didn’t mug an old lady. The consequences for losing a book shouldn’t be getting arrested. A civilized and compassionate society would understand that a person is worth more than a used book. > The person didn’t manage to graduate from high school, is it any wonder he may not be the most responsible person ever? At least he was trying to learn something, an activity I’d want no part of discouraging. He didn’t lose the book, it was returned the day after the arrest. I don’t really see how this was discouraging him from learning something. The library provided access to a book, for free, so that he could use it to learn. The only condition was that he had to return it after a month (or whatever the loan period is) so that other people could have access to the same book. If he needed it for longer, he could probably have renewed it for another month as well. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/10 "2013-11-02T14:16:41Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > At least he was trying to learn something, an activity I’d want no part of discouraging. The fact that he returned the book the very next day after being arrested proves that he _did_ learn something. See? The system works! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/11 "2013-11-02T14:25:46Z")
So. . .[Mr. Bookman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zePQavforA) lives! ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Ghoti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Flying\_Ghoti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Ghoti)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/12 "2013-11-02T14:35:48Z")
More like [this.](http://librarycartoons.wordpress.com/category/comic-strips/pearls-before-swine/) ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/13 "2013-11-02T14:50:24Z")
Or [this](http://assets.amuniversal.com/effae1d6250a102d94d7001438c0f03b). ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/14 "2013-11-02T14:53:53Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > The agreement he signed when he was issued his library card surely spelled out explicitly the process and consequences of borrowing a book and not returning it in a timely manner. That’s why _you’re supposed to read papers before you sign your name to them_. I thoroughly read everything I physically sign and I’m certain that my library card agreement makes no mention of potential arrest. If the law allows for something, they are not obligated to spell it out for you as the public has access to those laws, ignorance of the law is no excuse, etc. Of course even lawyers, judges, and law enforcement have not actually read all of the laws, and this guy trying to prep for the GED would be unlikely to actually understand “legalese” anyway. Who is served by expending funds to arrest someone over the loss of a used book? Libraries are already struggling. Discouraging people from checking books out because they don’t want to risk such harsh consequences is not helpful. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/15 "2013-11-02T14:59:29Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > A civilized and compassionate society is only _possible_ when its members follow the rules and act responsibly. Well, until we ditch all of these faulty HUMANS, we will continue to have rule-breaking and irresponsible behavior, so I guess civilization and compassion are off the table until we figure out how to get them all locked up, making way for the Civilized and Compassionate Society of Obedient Robots. I can’t wait! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/16 "2013-11-02T15:02:09Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > a person is worth more than a used book. For heaven’s sake, they _arrested_ him, they didn’t _kill_ him. He broke a law (evidently) and he got arrested. For that library system, in that locality, that appears to be a potential consequence. If you don’t return a book to my library, you get billed for it. If you get billed for a certain amount and don’t pay, we send you to collections. This guy got an arrest on his record, we put a smudge on your credit report. Different libraries do it differently. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/17 "2013-11-02T15:14:39Z")
> [@Mr.Me](#): > > Only three years? I’ve got a book that was due back by July 23, 1984. I sometimes wonder what the fine would be for being almost 30 years overdue. Yeah, I haven’t gone quite that long, but when I moved out of country for a few years, I had forgotten about five or six books. I returned them about six or seven years later. I forget the number, but the fees were capped at something like $20 per book (ETA: It’s actually only $10/book, but $20 per video or DVD. Lost books are charged replacement fee. One of the books I had had a replacement cost that was lower than the maximum fine so I just bought it instead of paying the fine.) although it may have depended if it was a hardback or paperback. Thankfully, I was not arrested and am now generally much better about returning library books. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/18 "2013-11-02T15:23:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > For heaven’s sake, they _arrested_ him, they didn’t _kill_ him. He broke a law (evidently) and he got arrested. For that library system, in that locality, that appears to be a potential consequence. > > If you don’t return a book to my library, you get billed for it. If you get billed for a certain amount and don’t pay, we send you to collections. This guy got an arrest on his record, we put a smudge on your credit report. Different libraries do it differently. Yes, it’s lovely that they didn’t kill him for his missing used book. What a fortunate fellow to be a member of this just and kind society. I’m sure he will be a much better citizen now, keeping to the correct side of the sidewalks and always toting the appropriate sizes of rocks to the town square on stoning day. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/19 "2013-11-02T15:46:02Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Yes, it’s lovely that they didn’t kill him for his missing used book. What a fortunate fellow to be a member of this just and kind society. I’m sure he will be a much better citizen now, keeping to the correct side of the sidewalks and always toting the appropriate sizes of rocks to the town square on stoning day. As was pointed out to you above, he didn’t lose the book, and it didn’t go missing. He. Stole. It. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907/20 "2013-11-02T15:56:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > As was pointed out to you above, he didn’t lose the book, and it didn’t go missing. He. Stole. It. If he intended to steal the book, he wouldn’t have checked it out, giving his actual name and personal information. Not every offense is or should be arrestible. You drove 67 in a 65 mph speed limit zone: You. Broke. The. Law. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrested-for-overdue-library-book/672907.md?page=2)