Guthrie library director proposes broad policy overhaul: consolidated cards, end to routine late fees
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Summary
The Guthrie library director presented a redline of policy changes that would consolidate multiple card types into one primary card, limit hot-spot loans, raise DVD checkout limits and remove routine late fees while preserving account-hold mechanisms. The board will vote on revisions after a full board is seated.
The library director presented a comprehensive redline of proposed policy changes and asked the advisory board for feedback ahead of a May vote and a subsequent city council review.
The director said the goal of the rewrite is to make library policy readable and public-facing "so that the public understands how the library works, what our values are, and how it operates for their benefit." She proposed consolidating three card types (resident, employee and student) into a single "primary" card with eligibility based on residency, employment or enrollment in Logan County.
On nonresident cards, the director said vendor rules for the OverDrive e-book consortium constrain how broadly the library can issue paid cards and that the staff may set procedures limiting cards to Oklahomans in practice. "We belong to a consortium for our ebooks, and we have to follow the rules set down by our vendor, OverDrive," she said.
The director also described several operational edits: allowing staff to accept a single photo ID rather than two forms for card issuance, removing a staff requirement to verify custody for children's cards, and simplifying renewal verification (including an online application option where ID photos are shredded after verification).
On collection management, she said the library will adopt consistent selection criteria across formats and modernize deselection (weeding) procedures, adding an appendix with an objection form and a documented appeals path: initial review by the director, written response, and a board-level review if the complainant remains dissatisfied.
The draft increases some lending limits and corrects drafting errors. The director said she raised DVD checkout limits from three to five items after patron feedback and identified a drafting mistake that briefly listed hotspots with the same lending rule as books (10 at a time). "That's a terrible idea," she said, and told the board she will change the hotspot rule to one per household before the final draft.
The most substantive financial change would remove routine late fees as a primary revenue mechanism. "Late fees are terrible," the director said, arguing they create stress and provide little income; she reported the library receives roughly $1,700 per year in late fees. Under the proposal, fines would remain as account holds: patrons with fines exceeding $5 would be blocked from borrowing until their balance falls below that threshold. The director noted city hall must accept changes that affect city revenue flows.
The director told the board she will include an executive summary in the packet for city council and recommended the board wait until a full membership is seated (a vacancy will be recommended to city council) before formalizing a vote.
The board took no formal vote on the redline at the meeting; the director invited feedback and said she will fix drafting errors and refine language before returning for a vote and city council consideration.
