Unreturned library book leads to woman's arrest

[Witchy_Dem]

Source: Yahoo News

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa – An Iowa woman has been arrested because she failed to return a library book.

Thirty-nine-year-old Shelly Koontz was arrested Thursday night on a fifth-degree theft charge. She is accused of keeping "The Freedom Writers Diary," which she checked out from the public library in nearby Jesup in April.

Police say the book — which is about a high school teacher's effort to inspire students to write — is valued at $13.95.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090124/ap_on_fe_st/odd_library_book_theft

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I was expecting the bust of a terrorist plot....I was wrong.

[Mz Pip]

1. Your tax dollars at work

How much did the arrest cost her town? A whole lot more than that book I'll bet.

[Wilber_Stool]

2. I feel so much safer.................n/t

[Xipe Totec]

3. Beware of Conan the Librarian n/t

[geomon666]

6. ROFLMAO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZHoHaAYHq8&fmt=18

[scytherius]

9. LOLOL n/t

nt

[Hissyspit]

4. What is that law that says that all in life will eventually mimic the plot of a Seinfeld episode?

Or am I making that up?

[Hulk]

5. God, I hope I don't have any overdue books out???

I wonder if she even knew?

What a farce!

[newfie11]

7. Damn I guess it is better not to return it.

Then see if you show up on TV's most wanted!

[mamameow]

8. scary!!!! boo!!!!!!

we are in trouble when the police only have the ability to arrest a CRIMINAL at this level. these guys need retraining and a course in finance. silly, silly mentality.

[PatrynXX]

10. Well she was warned

Article doesn't provide a good explanation as per why she failed to respond to a cop at the door. On the face of it, I'd side with her, but the library isn't a free books store. Taxpayers paid for that book. So everyone can use it, not someone to steal it. Let me know how much most libraries make.

[Jennicut]

11. Yeah so fine her. Arresting someone for this is going overboard and

the cost for the arrest is not a good use of tax payers dollars for a book less then $14.00.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

14. and now she's labeled as an criminal...

Speechless

[stillcool]

32. Why is she labeled a 'criminal'?

just because she got arrested? I'm sure if she gives the book back, or pays for it there will be no problem. Why should she be able to take what isn't hers, without consequence?

[GA_ArmyVet]

41. Well she is in the strictest sense of the word

She committed Petty Theft.

If the libray allowed one person (and perhaps they have reach their tolerance level of non returned books) then it sets a precedence that nothing will happen if you just steal the book.

I bet no one one else in that community is has an overdue book.

Still, I do believe it was a bit much and aa fine along with a court summons if she failed to produce the book and or pay the fine would have been more appropriate.

[madfloridian]

16. Bull hockey. The new America...everyone is a criminal.

You sound confused.

[stillcool]

21. what about the library?

if they've been calling and emailing this woman for almost a year, with no results, do they have to eat the cost of the book? A policeman visited her home 4 months ago, and she still hasn't returned the book? I don't know where this library is, but I've lived in some rural areas, with tiny libraries and no budget. Stealing from libraries is more criminal to me than shoplifting.

[madfloridian]

24. Then I guess we throw her in jail and throw away the key?

You guys here are DU never cease to amaze me.

Lock up everybody. That's the solution.

:eyes:

[stillcool]

27. Who said throw her in jail?

what's wrong with getting arrested for taking something that isn't yours? This woman, at any time since last April could have at least communicated what her problem was with returning the book. Why should a public library have to put up with her shit? You think that's right?

[madfloridian]

29. You think it is a criminal charge. NO, I do NOT think so.

That has never been a criminal charge in our country until Bush came along.

[stillcool]

36. Stealing is not a crime?

Since when? She's been contacted by phone and email since last April. She had a policeman visit her 4 months ago. Is it too much to ask that someone either pay for or return a damned book? What do you think a library is? A place to take whatever you want, and to hell with everyone else?

[treestar]

31. you get charged a fine and the cost of the book

One reason I never use those book drops is once I did and I got a bill for the book. I said I returned it but they said people steal the books out of the return bins and that could have happened.

The fine may be tough to collect because it is small, but it is the usual custom.

[stillcool]

34. They've been trying to contact her..

via email and phone since last April. A policeman visited her 4 months ago. Is there some reason she should be able to take what isn't hers without consequence? If she has to get arrested in order to pay for the damn book, do you think there's something wrong with that?

[madfloridian]

37. You are saying it is a criminal charge. That's outrageous.

What a mindset.

[treestar]

51. There is a civil system

Just seems disproportionate. And you're assuming she did it intentionally. Dumb. Who would steal a book from the library while remaining at the address? She knew they knew where she was. If you're going to steal a book, it makes more sense to do it from a bookstore rather than someplace where they know you last had it and have your name and address.

[liberalhistorian]

44. I wouldn't have paid for that book if I'd

legimitately returned it, no way. I'd have made them prove that I didn't return it, especially since they were aware that people steal from the return bin. Maybe it was just a way for them to get extra money, I wouldn't be surprised.

[stillcool]

18. I've gone to the library for my entire life..

but have never heard of anyone getting arrested for failing to return a book. I've heard of people returning books like 20 years later, and paying for books that they lost. I don't see anything wrong with a library filing a complaint against someone who knowingly refuses to return an over-due book...it is theft. I think there is more to this story than just an over-due book.

[gollygee]

19. So?

If she'd been warned that she'd be executed by fire if she didn't return the book, would it make it ok to burn her alive?

[madfloridian]

35. Once they arrested a pregnant woman in our country, handcuffed and off to jail

For late fees. Turns out she had moved, and it was later straightened out. I will see if I can find it in the archives.

If I remember I got blasted for defending her rights as well.

America has changed if that many at the Dem forum think it is okay.

[Enrique]

12. throw the book at her!

[razors edge]

13. They have to find it first. n/t

[geomon666]

55. ...

:spray:

[oldnslo]

15. They will have to pry my overdue books from my cold, dead, hands....

[Raine]

17. Good thing my library

has never handled things that way I would've been arrested long ago and several times over. :scared: I have a really bad habit of keeping books to long, I eventually get them returned but it just takes me awhile to do it. :blush: :spank:

[stillcool]

20. Does your library call and email you..

repeatedly for almost a year with no response? If a policeman visited your home 4 months ago, do you think you might have returned it? Why should any library have to eat the cost of this book, or any book you fail to return?

[Raine]

22. Good point

I would never let it go that far. I've ended up being fined but never put the library to such trouble or expense as this case.

[stillcool]

25. I've lived in a lot of places..

and have gone to the library in every one of them. From cities to rinky-dink little towns. They all have their individual character, and provide such an invaluable gift. I'm great for 'losing' a book under the bed, or the sofa, or getting them mixed in with my own books. I once set out to do laundry at a laundromat, and brought a book to read, which I tossed in the washing machine with the laundry. I probably have paid for 3 books that had bad things happen to them in my possession, but never a problem with working out how I would pay if I didn't have the money, or anything like that.

[gollygee]

23. That doesn't make arresting her an appropriate response

As I said earlier, if they'd warned her that she'd be executed by being burned alive, that wouldn't make it OK to burn her alive. It's faulty logic.

The obvious response IMO would be to send her to a collection agency.

[stillcool]

28. They've been calling and emailing her..

since last April. A policeman visited her 4 months ago. Is it really too much to ask that she contact the library? Is it different to steal from a library than it is from a bookstore?

[treestar]

33. File a complaint in small claims court

Make it a civil and not a criminal matter. There's no intent to steal, just inattention or negligence.

[stillcool]

42. They've been calling and emailing

since April, but now the Public Library should have to take her to court? You call that inattention? She stole the damn book. She pays for it, and everybody's happy. But no....bad, bad, library. How dare they try to get back what is their property!

[treestar]

50. They don't have to make it a criminal matter

It's worth $13.95!

Make her pay for the book is what normal libraries do. They don't even call and email. I had to pay for a book once (I returned it but it got stolen out of the outside bin). No emails or calls. Just a bill for the book!

[gollygee]

56. So why wouldn't sending her to a collection agency solve the problem?

They won't be able to prove she intended to steal anything. People lose library books. This is a civil matter. She didn't steal a book - she owes them money. Force her to pay, and the way to do that is with a collection agency.

[madfloridian]

26. DU is becoming apologetic for police state tactics.

Once I posted about FL police pumping over 100 bullets into one man. I got slammed so bad by folks who thought it was okay that I was sickened.

A women spent weeks in jail with no recourse for tossing a paper cup of ice out the car window.

The attacks on me when I posted it got so bad I had to delete it.

What is going on here?

Did the Bush mindset really take after all?

[stillcool]

30. If you steal from a bookstore..

is it a 'police-state-tactic' that you might get arrested?

[Neecy]

38. it's the disproportionate response that matters

As someone said above, send it to collections. Libraries have been dealing with this issue since they've been in existance and calling in law enforcement is serious overkill. This woman isn't holding dozens of books hostage - it's one used book.

[stillcool]

46. I can't make the distinction..

I hate seeing libraries eating this shit, especially now. More and more libraries are closing their doors, cutting back their hours, cutting children's programs because of lack of funding. In a little town, which this certainly sounds like it is, I can understand the position of the library. She doesn't need to go to jail, or have a record. She just has to talk to the frigging library about the damn book.

[madfloridian]

39. Never mind. I will just update my list.

I love a sensible argument, but library fees are not a criminal offense. Bush's reign changed this country, and your thoughts are an example.

Good by.

[stillcool]

43. I guess it's okay for you to steal....

some of the time..especially from a public library where that book is shared by many, many others. Libraries are shutting down..not sure you're aware of that..because of lack of funding. Stealing books helps a lot I'm sure..especially when so many people are cool with it.

[liberalhistorian]

45. WTF is up with you and the bee in your bonnet?

This is huge overkill on the part of the library and if I were in that area I'd never use that library again and would vote down any funding levies for it. I'd also be pissed about the waste of law enforcement resources, sending a policeman in for Christ's sake, to deal with one forgotten overdue book. ONE. Not a whole bunch of them. And the difference between that and a bookstore is that her taxes have also paid for the library.

As others have said, libraries have been dealing with this since they first existed and there's no excuse for this ridiculous overkill. You're probably the type that has no problem with hospitals using "body attachments" in arresting people who haven't been able to pay their medical bills fast enough for the hospital's liking (the WSJ, of all papers, had a good expose of that horrible practice a few years ago). There's such a thing as overkill, and this is it.

Unique Management, Inc., is a collection agency catering exclusively to libraries nationwide. They've had great success in increasing both the return of overdue books and the payment of both fines and for books themselves, without resorting to this kind of ridiculous overkill and involving, for God's sake, policemen who should have far better things to do. There's no reason why this library could not have taken that tactic, like many other libraries do.

[stillcool]

47. Good for you.

they probably don't have your funding or they wouldn't be so pissed about the damn book. I'm sure this is a little town, or they wouldn't be sending a cop out for a book. Maybe you'll get your wish and the library will shut down...like many other libraries do.

[liberalhistorian]

48. Even most little town libraries don't pull this shit.

Certainly not for one book. I'm the daughter of English teachers, who loves books and libraries, but I don't happen to think that overdue library books are cause for police visits and arrests. Period. And neither would any of the many librarians I know, far from it. If you do, you've got one fuck of a long authoritarian streak.

[TahitiNut]

40. It's too bad Bush43 doesn't read. (Is there a chance he has an overdue copy of 'My Pet Goat'?)

It seems there'd be a better chance of prosecuting him for keeping a library book than for war crimes resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

49. They should have sent Mr. Bookman.

[Sultana]

52. My family didn't believe when I told them that some people get arrested for overdue books

:crazy:

[MilesColtrane]

53. Lt. Bookman's on the case.

"Let me tell you something, funny girl... You know that little stamp? The one that says New York Public Library? Well, that may not mean anything to you, but that means a lot to me. One whole helluva lot. Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want to. I've seen your type before -- flashy, making the scene, flaunting convention. Yeah, I know what you're thinking... Why's this guy making such a big stink about old library books? Let me give you a hint, missy. Maybe we can live without libraries, people like you and me.... Maybe. Sure, we're too old to change the world. What about that kid, sitting down, opening a book right now in a branch of the local library and finding pictures of pee-pees and wee-wees in The Cat in the Hat and The Five Chinese Brothers. Doesn't he deserve better? Look, if you think this is about overdue fines and missing books, you'd better think again. This is about that kid's right to read a book without getting his mind warped. Or maybe that turns you on, ... Maybe that's how you get your kicks... You and your goodtime buddies... I've got a flash for you, Party Girl, Partytime is over."

[Waiting For Everyman]

54. The most it should be is a fine for the value of the book.