What is it with the assholes who frequent public libraries? Library rant.

[Rabrrrrrr]

I am one who highly supports the idea of a free library for all people, one of the most excellent ideas ever, so that poor people can also have access to books and videos and CDs and whatnot.

But I have been borrowing CDs and DVDs from my local library, and I have to ask - who the fuck are these clowns using the library? Can't they show one teeny bit of respect to the people who are paying for the library by not scratching the living shit out of every CD and DVD they borrow?

I have CDs that I bought in 1985 that still work perfectly, and have managed to survive unscathed constant trips back and forth between WI and MI, moving to NYC, moving to HI, moving to NYC.

At the library, I pick up a CD that's not very old, and the goddamn thing skips and crackles and sounds like an old abused vinyl album.

Every DVD I've borrowed so far has had completely unplayable areas. The Lost in Space DVDs I borrowed, two of them, with a total of 12 episodes (I think) I was able to watch three of them, and none of those in entirety.

Why can't people fucking take care of things? Do we need to set some kind of limits on who can borrow expensive/delicate materials from the library? Should we say that if your clothing is dirty, or your kids are out of control, or your glasses are taped together, or you're wearing "dress" sweats, you can't borrow the electronic media?

Is the fact that certain people can't take care of shit one of the reasons, perhaps, why they're stuck going to the library for free video rentals to begin with?

I'm really, really, really pissed off about this.

And I'm sorry if I'm offending, but I can't imagine any of the professors, doctors, lawyers, teachers, college students, even most high school students, and other professionals and careful people who use the library being so negligent.

There is no reason whatsoever for CDs and DVDs this scratched up. No reason at all!!

TAKE CARE OF OUR PUBLIC PROPERTY YOU USELESS ASSHOLES!!!

:rant:

/end rant

and as a p.s., let me just say that goes for all public properties, such as parks, roadways, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and wildlife, as well as schools, concert halls, monuments, and government buildings.

[Maddy McCall]

1. Surely you jest.

Have you ever thought that many poor or homeless people don't even HAVE DVD players?

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I'm certainly not talking about the homeless

And DVD players (and CD players) are cheap enough now that anyone who wants one can get one.

$29 at WalMart I saw last Fall.

Hell, even those really fancy portable DVD players that were $1500 a couple years ago are now available for just over $100. Amazing!

[Maddy McCall]

8. I go to the library in sweats...

and I can remember when I couldn't afford a new pair of glasses. All I'm saying is that you can't judge whether or not people are careful/careless with public property based only on the clothes they wear or their outer appearance.

Seriously, when I'm deep in historical research, you'd probably think I'm a bum when I visit the library. But I take great care of any library property in my possession.

I can remember, shortly after the birth of my son, having hardly a penny to my name. If I would have had a disposable $29 in my pocket, I would have felt rich. If you've never lived in poverty, you cannot imagine how even $29 seems like a lot of money. Anyway, I didn't have any money, but one of my few joys was taking my son to the library and spending hours there. I was poor. I respected public property.

I'm not so poor now. I still respect public property. It's not a class thing.

[Jamastiene]

26. Yes, it can be.

$29 can be hard to save up over even a few weeks when you are on a very tight budget.

[ghostsofgiants]

24. And don't call him Shirley!

That joke doesn't work as well in text.

[Bouncy Ball]

2. It might take a bit more time, but personally

I think when you return electronic materials, you should have to return them to a PERSON who takes a second to check them.

When you check OUT the material, you (the borrower) should look at it first and report any damage that is already there.

Actually it's not a half-bad idea to go ahead and do that anyway, so that you avoid taking home a fucked up DVD or CD. Also so the library can find out.

We've been doing a lot of library-in' too. My daughter loves books on CDs and there's nothing like seeing a kid's face when she gets to the FIFTH CD on the very last part and....it's FUCKED UP. And she can't hear the end.

We've also borrowed movies that were messed up.

If anyone has a better idea than someone checking in the electronic media, spill it, because it bugs me, too.

Oh and no, I don't think we should prohibit borrowing of electronic material based on the appearance of the person (are you feeling ok, Rabrrrrrr?). After all, nicely dressed people can be big assholes, too.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Nah, I'm feeling okay - just really pissed off about this

and lashed out at an easy and obvious target. If people aren't willing to take care of themselves, they probably won't take care of anything else, either.

I know there's no good solution that doesn't quickly end up in Nazi territory, so I guess all we can do is grin and bear it and let the losers chew up our public property in their self-focused uneducated "I do what I want" worldview and heave a heavy sigh in exasperation in the hopes that, though I am appalled, at least they were at the library borrowing something and expanding their minds and at least trying, and not hanging out on the street corner snorting meth or drinking beer in the back of a pickup while driving around yelling harassing sexual inuendo at cute women and throwing bottles in the road.

:shrug:

[Bouncy Ball]

10. You're kinda cracking me up and I don't think you mean to.

What about my idea? Have someone personally check every piece of electronic media at check out? How much longer could it possibly take?

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. I think that's a very good idea

And if it's scratched, make the fucker buy a new one.

A scratch on a DVD or CD isn't like a dogeared page in a book. It's like someone ripping a whole chapter out of the book or spilling ink that saturates the last 200 pages into unreadability.

[Bouncy Ball]

13. Exactly. And there are fines.

And until you pay the fine, you can't check out anything else.

I have no problem with that.

So here's the system I propose:

Upon checkout of electronic media, librarian visually inspects CD or DVD to make sure it looks like it's in working order.

Checks it out to individual. (This also protects the individual from being accused of doing damage they didn't do.)

When it is returned, either check it again then (hard for a large library with little help, though) OR check it while re-shelving! If it is found to be damaged while re-shelving, look up who borrowed it last. Put a fine on their "account" (do you call it that at a library?).

Then the next time they try to check out electronic media, they either pay the fine or their electronic media checkout privileges are suspended until it is paid.

Easy-peasy.

[ogradda]

4. Hear hear.

I'd like to print that up and take it to MY library.

[Bouncy Ball]

6. Hopefully not to bitch at the librarians, who probably

are the most pissed off about it.

There HAS to be some system--after all, I just checked out a book that had a neat little notation in the upper right-hand corner of one of the blank front pages: "small coffee stain, p. 249."

I mean someone noticed that two centimeter wide coffee stain, surely someone can notice huge scratches on a DVD or CD.

[lenidog]

5. Something to try which may help

Go to your local store and buy a DVD or CD cleaner. Run the disk through before you play it. I do it for every single disk I rent whether its from the library or the video store. It cuts down on a lot of problems and it will help the lense of your DVD or CD player.

[Bouncy Ball]

7. Do you know about how much those are?

It cleans the DVD, not the DVD player?

That sounds like a good idea.

[lenidog]

14. It cleans the DVD

Last time I got one it was from Hollywood video and it was just the no frills model and it cost $5.00. All you do is put the DVD in the machine face up, spray the cleaning solution, close the lid and turn the crank a few times and VOILA a clean DVD.

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. That's a darned good idea!

I should get one for my own DVDs and CDs. Every now and again I do have swipe a bit of dust or something off one. An actual cleaner would be handy dandy.

[lenidog]

16. Its also very helpful when you rent from a video store

I have rented DVDs from my video store that I do not want to know what was on them. Also a lot of times when a DVD wont run properly it might not be a scratch on it but some kinda dirt. So as I said when I rent I run it through the cleaner first then pop it in. I have had a DVD player for about 3 years now and I have not had any problems since I started that practice.

[Kenneth ken]

11. timely post

I've been thinking about donating my DVDs to the library. I do that with books, I figure they have more bookshelves and room than I do, so it's a good place for me to shelve them, and I can go check them out if I want to reread something.

But I'll have to give more thought to letting them store my DVDs if they let people muck them up so I wouldn't be able to rewatch something in the future.

As to your rant, I have no idea why people treat everything like junk. Maybe they have junky souls or minds or attitudes?

:shrug:

[Salviati]

17. what would be fabulous is...

if the libraries could get a copy of some media, be it CD, DVD, or what have you, and then make a copy of it to rent out. When the copy invariably gets degraded beyond the point of usability, then make another copy of the master. Of course the (MP/RI)AA would throw some kind of hissy fit if this system were to be implamented...

[alarimer]

18. It isn't just CDs

I checked out books by both Molly Ivins and Al Franken and found pages missing in BOTH of them. They were new books at the time so I don't think it was a coincidence, nor do I think it was accidental. I did tell the librarian and she told me it happens a lot with certain authors. Apparently some right-wingers think it's a good idea to vandalize books. Can't have those scary liberal idea getting out.

[Hardrada]

19. and the public property of other countries too.

I also hate the morons who use stop signs and other signs out in the country for target practice, not to mention mailboxes and cows and domestic cats. And the people who dump out their car ash trays in front of the K-Mart or the Kum 'n' Go Kwik Mart, and the used rubbers to be found in back of the college library.

[MissHoneychurch]

20. Lots of people don't care

because they can get it for free. It is strange. They handle library items never the way they would handle their own stuff. "It doesn't belong to us, then why taking care, we didn't pay for it".

It costs libraries a lot of money to replace items because they got torn or broken or scratched. I remember one time I was working in a public library as a student. We lent games. Every time the person who checked out a game, he/she had to count the pieces. There was a list what is supposed to be inside. Then the person signed a paper that he/she counted everything and everything is there. After returning the game a librarian or library assistent counted the pieces again. If there was a piece missing the customer had either search for it again or pay a fee.

[Demit]

21. You've hit the nail on the head.

It's a contempt people have for something when it's free--or maybe it's a warped justification that they are entitled because they pay taxes.

I check out movies and I rewind them when I'm finished, but many times I have to rewind them before I watch. A few weeks ago I had a crush on a certain actor and asked for all his movies, and was told that some had been checked out and never returned.

I live in a major city with perennial budget problems. I'm just grateful the library is still THERE. I wish everyone would realize what a great thing the public library is, and treat it with more care and respect.

[MissHoneychurch]

22. I am a librarian

I know what it feels like to be ony the lending side. People who aren't returning items should be punished in some way. Of course they have to pay a fee but that doesn't help if the aren't coming back at all. But that would mean a lot of personal work and libraries can't afford that.
What I hate also is when books are returned and they are smelling of the cold smoke. :puke:

[KitSileya]

30. In our libraries,

if a book goes missing, the person who borrowed it has to pay for a new one. The amount is included in the computerized info on the book, available in the search database, and the bill is sent home to the borrower.

[bleedingheart]

23. I have experienced the same thing with Hollywood and Blockbuster

so it is not limited to libraries...

people don't give a shit, they either abuse stuff they get for free or they feel they have a right to abuse stuff if they "paid for it"..

[Jamastiene]

25. I agree.

The media should be inspected for damage when it is returned and the person should be barred from borrowing again if they damage it. That is disrespectful. I see why you are upset.

[LynneSin]

27. Counterpoint:

I too have a DVD collection that I have owned for years and all except 1 of my DVDs are in perfect condition. But then again, I maybe watch those DVDs one every couple of months so most of the time they're sitting on the shelf, in their DVD box. My DVDs are a Bevely Hills Housewife living pampered in their home whereas Library/Rental DVDs are the working class and after awhile we just start wearing down

When you go to the Library, blockbuster, hell even the DVDs I get from Netflix, there's a certain wear&tear going on here because these DVDs are used CONSTANTLY.

What I have done to help out is purchase a DVD cleaner (runs about $20-$25) and before I use a rented/borrowed DVD, I clean the DVD in the cleaner. I wont' get out the most horrific of scratchs but it does improve play greatly

[terrya]

28. THANK YOU, Rabrrrrrr

This is a pet peeve of mine. I've checked out DVD's from the Chicago Public Library that have been completely unwatchable...because of the scratches and dirt that are on them. Some people seem to treat these DVD's as their own personal property. Now, if they don't care about the upkeep of the DVD's they themselves bought, ok. But the DVD's from the library are PUBLIC PROPERTY. And, like you said, these people apparently don't respect other people's property.

Thank you again for mentioning something that, frankly, pisses me off.

[LynzM]

29. Hey dude...

I agree with your frustration, and disagree with your assumption of who it is that is causing the damage. You never know who's tossing stuff on top of their player or onto the seat of their car or whatever, with disregard for the care of things that aren't theirs.

I agree that inspecting media before it goes out and when it's returned is a good plan.