# I just want a library card not a new mortgage. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 17, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456 "2005-08-17T17:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/41 "2005-08-19T03:47:32Z")
Libraries generally don’t have lending limits on books. Furthermore, many offer expensive items like videos, software, and books on tape. A single person can do a lot of damage, especially to a small library. I have a friend that once racked up $1,100 in library fees. They are just looking to protect their institution and I see nothing wrong with doing what they need to do to make sure that they don’t get left out in the cold when some punk skips town with their books. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/42 "2005-08-19T03:54:29Z")
When I started at university last fall, I decided that since I’d (theoritically) be spending quite a bit of time at the library, I might as well switch it up and go to different libraries. Yes, the uni library is nice, but a change of environment’s not a bad idea. So I go to the community college and speak to the librarian, who tells me that I can study, hang out, buy a photocopy pass, and pretty much have full use of the library, I just can’t take books out. Cool. So next I check out the closest public library, which is in a fabulously beautiful building… nice, lots of light, gorgeous. So I talk to the clerk, ask her for a new card, and she looks up my name and we laugh about the fact it expired when I was eight, haha. And she asks me for my birth certificate, which I don’t have. I’ve got my passport, driver’s license, university ID, Care Card, etc. etc., but no birth certificate, no dice. WTF? I wouldn’t have all this _photo ID_ with recent pictures unless I’d had the birth certificate in the first place! Not the biggest deal, I just came back the next day with proper ID, but I’m still weirded out by the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/43 "2005-08-19T12:17:18Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Libraries generally don’t have lending limits on books. Furthermore, many offer expensive items like videos, software, and books on tape. A single person can do a lot of damage, especially to a small library. I have a friend that once racked up $1,100 in library fees. They are just looking to protect their institution and I see nothing wrong with doing what they need to do to make sure that they don’t get left out in the cold when some punk skips town with their books. So, you’d be okay with them running a credit check and a background check? Because a reference isn’t going to do much for them. References are, to put it mildly, completely useless. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/44 "2005-08-19T13:04:47Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > I’ve got my passport, driver’s license, university ID, Care Card, etc. etc., but no birth certificate, no dice. WTF? I wouldn’t have all this _photo ID_ with recent pictures unless I’d had the birth certificate in the first place! Hey, maybe you are lying about being born. They don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/45 "2005-08-19T13:23:58Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > I haven’t had a library card in about 15 or 16 years. What prompted me to get one after all these years is that I’ve gone back to college and a library is a great place to get books I might find useful in my search for knowledge. Yeah, I guess that sounds more noble then saying I don’t want to pay out the nose for any books I might need to read while in school. I live in a small county in Arkansas that only has 3 cities. The library is very small, I accidentally drove past it while I was looking for it, but it looks like they have a nice reference section and access to some educational software. > > I show up at the library today and ask if I can get a card. She whips out the little card for me to fill out tells me I need to write my name, address, and phone number, the place I work as well as the phone number there, and finally I need to give them a personal reference from someone who lives in the country and their phone number. > > Here’s why I’m pissed. I don’t know anyone else in the county except my wife. If I want to be a fucking hermit and shun my neighbhors then that’s my fucking business and it shouldn’t bar me from checking out a book. I don’t even think they need to know my place of employment or the phone number. > > So this is my bitch thread about that. Not the best pit thread in the world and I’m writing to the city council, a polite letter, to let them know my position. If worse comes to worse maybe one of them will let me use them as a reference. > > Marc You’ve got 5000 posts here and that’s good enough for me. Email me and I’ll be your library reference. I’d better not get this call though! Riiiinnng- Yes? \>This is the Public Library. Are you one Mr. Astro? Yes… Why? \>The Mr Gibson who listed YOU as a REFERENCE has made himself quite at home in the Periodicals section! What? \>He’s got his sleeping bag and a pillow and he’s sleeping under a table! Is he disturbing anyone? \>He’s snoring and muttering vague threats against the government! Which government? \>It’s hard to tell… possibly Canada. Sigh… I’ll be down to get him. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/46 "2005-08-19T14:56:39Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > IBut I hope they don’t require more than the local dump. That’s right, my husband took a load of half-full cans of latex paint that had been occupying the attic of our new house to the dump, and was “permitted” to leave this load but will have to have a car registration showing residence in this county to go back again. The freaking _dump_. (Although once it was explained to him, it makes sense – this is the only county dump in the area that doesn’t charge, so a lot of folks from surrounding counties were abusing the privilege till this county instituted the new strict residency requirements.) > > The world, she is a strange place sometimes. Are you in Baltimore, by any chance? They require proof of residency to throw stuff away at the dumps (technically, it’s a “landfill”) here, for the exact reason you mentioned. Too many people from neighboring counties dumping their shit in our dump. All you have to show is a driver’s license, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/47 "2005-08-19T15:01:36Z")
Anne Arundel County. And although hubby has a local driver’s license – he arrived here before me so beat me to all this stuff – he was told that won’t be good enough from here on out; his vehicle registration has to actually show Anne Arundel County on it. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/48 "2005-08-19T16:53:01Z")
> [@astro](#): > > You’ve got 5000 posts here and that’s good enough for me. Email me and I’ll be your library reference. I’d better not get this call though! That was hilarious, Astro. Thanks. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/49 "2005-08-19T17:11:17Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > I have a friend that once racked up $1,100 in library fees. They are just looking to protect their institution and I see nothing wrong with doing what they need to do to make sure that they don’t get left out in the cold when some punk skips town with their books. I do not work here, I do not go to school here, I don’t go to church here, and I don’t even know my neighbors. A lot of this might sound unusual but I live in a rural area on a road that’s paved in gravel not asphalt. Because I do not know anybody in the county I am effectively barred from taking advantage of a public library. How is a reference going to help protect the library? Would you find it acceptable to be asked for references if you moved to a new city/county? Keeping in mind that your references must be people who live in that city/county. What about 2-3 references? Marc ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/50 "2005-08-19T17:51:57Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Libraries generally don’t have lending limits on books. Furthermore, many offer expensive items like videos, software, and books on tape. A single person can do a lot of damage, especially to a small library. I have a friend that once racked up $1,100 in library fees. They are just looking to protect their institution and I see nothing wrong with doing what they need to do to make sure that they don’t get left out in the cold when some punk skips town with their books. So, would this friend of yours been unable to get a reference? You called him or her a “friend”, before you knew about the library fees, would you have refused to be a reference? Unless you demonstrate how this bad borrower friend of yours would have been unable to provide a reference, I’m not sure what your point is. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/51 "2005-08-31T07:50:12Z")
Well the mayor replied with a letter of his own explaining to me that the library was an entity of the county government not the city, and there was nothing he could do. I knew that but I couldn’t find out who sat on the county government and figured he might be able to give me a hand anyway. He also told me that the librarian explained to him that “…regardless of how many precautions they take at the library, hundreds of dollars in value of books and other materials are lost each year from people checking items out and them moving or disappearing from the community.” I’ll write him a letter thanking him for his reply and then I guess I’ll have to take this up with the county. I would be very interested to hear whether or not the libraries policy of requireing a reference has cut down on the number of people who cut and run. Marc ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/52 "2005-09-01T16:56:39Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > \But I hope they don’t require more than the local dump. That’s right, my husband took a load of half-full cans of latex paint that had been occupying the attic of our new house to the dump, and was “permitted” to leave this load but will have to have a car registration showing residence in this county to go back again. The freaking _dump_. (Although once it was explained to him, it makes sense – this is the only county dump in the area that doesn’t charge, so a lot of folks from surrounding counties were abusing the privilege till this county instituted the new strict residency requirements.) Ours is a pay dump (you buy tickets at town hall) and you still have to have a sticker on your car certifying that you live in the area (they give you that after you show driver’s license). Our library is very sweet about everything; you just sign up basic info (no ID) and get a handwritten card. We also don’t have fines, just a conscience box in case you feel any pangs when returning something late. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/53 "2005-09-01T17:59:03Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Our library is very sweet about everything; you just sign up basic info (no ID) and get a handwritten card. We also don’t have fines, just a conscience box in case you feel any pangs when returning something late. Does the deputy in this town keep his bullit in his shirt pocket? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/54 "2005-09-02T15:39:50Z")
Who needs bullets when a stern disapproving look will suffice? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/55 "2005-09-02T20:42:58Z")
Do they actually call the references? You could always name a public official and give his desk number. After all, people in government are always your friends. I’d be tempted to say, “My reference is Drew Alexander and you can reach him at 330-643-2181.” Of course, that’s the sheriff in my county, but… ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456/56 "2005-09-02T21:25:10Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > Well the mayor replied with a letter of his own explaining to me that the library was an entity of the county government not the city, and there was nothing he could do. . . > > I’ll write him a letter thanking him for his reply. . . > Marc Now that your on a letter writting basis with the mayor give him as a reference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-want-a-library-card-not-a-new-mortgage/317456.md?page=2)