HARLINGEN — Since 2011, 4,465 books and videos have gone missing at the Harlingen Public Library.
That comes out to about $9,000 in fines.
And it is a big chunk of the library’s collection of 111,601 books, videos and video books.
Next month, the library is counting on recovering many of the missing items.
From April 7 to 16, the library will offer amnesty to patrons with overdue items as part of National Library Week, said Dauna Campbell, the library’s director.
“The purpose of this program is to show our appreciation to our patrons and (offer) a chance to recover overdue items,” Campbell said.
She said the program also gives patrons a chance to come back to the library.
“We want to bring in patrons who might be afraid,” she said. “They feel I can’t come back because I don’t know where the book is or they worry about the overdue fee.”
It has been about two years since the library offered an amnesty program.
In 2016, the library recovered 239 items during a week-long period.
This time, Campbell hopes the new two-week program will help her recover more.
For missing books and videos, she said, the library charges overdue fines of 25 cents a day, capping individual charges at $5.
“If they have several items, it adds up pretty fast,” she said.
For some patrons, the program offers forgiveness.
“We recover our items and allow them to start fresh,” Campbell said.
Children’s books make up the bulk of the missing items.
“A lot of people who have these items are people who need the library the most,” Campbell said. “We find a lot of the books are children’s books so we really want the families to come back.”
Campbell said the library tries to replace books and videos it cannot recover.
“When we see there’s a gap, we replace it when we find it,” she said. “We’re constantly refreshing our collection.”
Too often, the library’s patrons suffer as a result of those with overdue books and videos.
“It’s some frustration for our patrons who look for specific titles and it’s missing,” Campbell said.