Carver County approves contract with recovery agency

CARVER COUNTY, MN – The Carver County Board of Commissioners recently approved a contract with a material collections agency to help encourage patrons with overdue books, magazines, DVDs and other materials to return them to the library.

“This action was taken with fairness to all library patrons in mind,” said Board Chair James Ische.
“Unreturned materials are not available for others to use or borrow,” commented Library Director Melissa Brechon. “If materials are not returned, in most cases, money from the library budget is used to replace them. This same money could much better be used to purchase new items for patron use instead of replacing non-returned items.

The Library hopes this practice will encourage all library borrowers to return items by the return date. Most library items may be renewed online or by telephone. Also, book drops for returning material when the library is closed are conveniently located for patron use.

Unique Management Services (UMS) has been selected as the material collections agency for the library. UMS works with libraries throughout the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. They specialize in the recovery of overdue materials and have an excellent record of treating patrons professionally

The County will continue to take a proactive approach from an in-house standpoint by reminding patrons that their items are due including e-mailing patrons of items due two days before the due date and sending two overdue notices if materials are not returned. These reminders result in over 95% of patrons returning their material before they would be forwarded to UMS. The County will forward the remaining 2-5% of accounts to UMS about three weeks after the second notice is sent.

“Fortunately, only a very small percentage of patrons using the library do not return materials as agreed,” said Brechon. “This new direction will not affect the vast majority of patrons.

Accounts will be forwarded to UMS after the material (books, CDs, DVDs etc.) is 40-50 days past due or if they owe more than $50 in library fines. Accounts will be assessed a $10 service fee when the account is forwarded to UMS. UMS guarantees that the service will be at least budget-neutral.

If the 90 day trial period goes well, the County can enter into a long-term agreement, at which point the county would also explore the option of cleaning-up older accounts (material/fines up to years overdue) that are on the books.