A Call to President Washington

You may have read recently that the founder of our country George Washington failed to return a library book that was due on November 2, 1789 to the New York Society Library. Here’s how I envision I would handle the situation. A simple phone call would do.

Ring…ring…

G. Washington: “Hello?”

Jeff: ”Hello, is this President Washington?”

G. Washington: “ Just a moment, I’m in my car and I need to pull over. Okay, what can I do you for?”

Jeff: “Well there is a book you checked out from our library and it is now 220 years overdue.”

G. Washington: “Are you sure about that? I don’t recall having a book out that long.”

Jeff: “Yes our records show you took out the book Law of Nations by Emmerich de Vatel on September 28, 1789, you renewed it once and it became due on November 2nd of that year.”

G. Washington: “Now I remember that book. I checked it out because our country was just 13 years old and it helped me get a better sense on how the British House of Commons works.”

Jeff: “How nice for you. According to our calculations the late fee for this item is $300,000. Will you be paying for it by cash or charge?”

G. Washington: “Wasn’t I supposed to get a reminder when the item became due?”

Jeff: “We do offer e-mail notifications as a courtesy. This option allows you to receive email notices for: holds ready for pickup, overdue items on your library account, or courtesy reminders for items on your account that will be due in 3 days. According to our records you did opt to be notified by e-mail rather than by phone.”

G. Washington: “Well I don’t believe I received an e-mail.”

Jeff: “Are you sure? Let me check your record. Is your e-mail address still gwashing@rochester.rr.com?”

G. Washington: “Yes it is.”

Jeff: “Email messages are sent from: notices@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us or courtesy@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us. You need to be sure to set your email up to allow messages from these addresses. If you like we can switch it so you are instead notified by telephone.”

G. Washington: “No e-mail is fine. Thank you.”

Jeff: “There are also several other ways you can find out about your account status. You can call the automated Monroe County Library System telephone circulation service at 585-428-4455. You can also view your library account online by visiting our library’s website. You will need your library card number to access these services.”

G. Washington: “Sorry about the whole late fee thing. That is so not like me. You say I took it out in 1789?”

Jeff: “That is correct.”

G. Washington: “That explains it. That was the year I was elected as first President of the United States. It was a busy time for me. I had established the Department of Foreign Affairs, North Carolina became a state, and the French Revolution just began.” There was a lot going on then and returning it must have slipped my mind.”

Jeff: “I suppose those things happen.”

G. Washington: “I’ll pay the fine but isn’t $300,000 a bit excessive?”

Jeff: “Actually the fine is far less than that. On the item there was a 25 cents per day fine. When $5.00 or more in fines was reached your account was blocked preventing you from borrowing more items. Because it has been out 220 years, the book has been marked as lost. Therefore you actually owe the replacement cost for the book in addition to a $5 processing fee.”

G. Washington: “How much is that?”

Jeff: "The replacement cost for the book is $24, plus a $5 replacement fee, equaling $29 that you owe."

G. Washington: "What if I find the book and return it? As I recall we moved from Mount Vernon that year to a small house on High Street in Philadelphia, since the White House was yet to be built. I will look for it. Maybe I left it under a copy of the Constitution. What if I return the item?"

Jeff: "If you do find the book and return it, you will owe the maximum overdue fine for that book of $7 and since your delinquent account doesn’t exceed $35.00 in combination of replacement costs and fines, your account was not sent to a collection agency and you did not incur a $15 collection fee."

G. Washington: “Whew! Well that’s good to know. You guys are great. Keep up the good work. I’ll be sure to look for that book. I am so glad Ben Franklin founded the first public library. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Jeff: “Happy to help and thank you Mr. President.”