Moratorium For Persons With Library Books

Persons in possession of books owned by the Jamaica Library Service have been given a three-month moratorium to return them without having to pay any penalty.

Executive Director of the Jamaica Library Service, Patricia Roberts, told JIS News that the moratorium had been declared as a means of getting overdue books back in the library system.

“Between this month and June, persons don’t have to pay any penalty fees, so no matter how long they have had the books, we’re asking them to bring them in. This is part of what we’re working on as it relates to the development of our collection.

On the one hand we’re trying to get in new books so that our readers can have all this wonderful new material at their disposal, and on the other hand, we’re asking persons who may have overdue books out there to take the time and get them in,” she said.

“They can take them to any library, so if persons borrowed the books in Kingston and they are out of town, the books can be returned to any library in the parishes. We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for individuals to return the overdue library books, as we need them desperately,” Mrs. Roberts pleaded.

For persons who wish to donate books to the library service, the Executive Director said it would be desirable for them to get in touch with officers of the organisation, so that an assessment can be made of the material being donated.

“Because we’re a library and current information is very important, we have a gift guideline to say to persons if you have books that meet this criterion, we’d love to have them,” Mrs. Roberts said.

The Executive Director also noted that certain titles would not attract the interest of some communities, hence the need to carefully screen the publications accepted, used and displayed.