avatarAmana

Summary

A library patron was unexpectedly relieved of a $40 fine for damaging children's books, thanks to the kindness of a library staff member who valued her frequent patronage and the reading achievements of her son.

Abstract

The author of the content experienced a challenging day, which was exacerbated by the discovery that two library books checked out for her son were damaged by water. Shortly after returning the books, she was informed of the $40 replacement cost. Despite her intention to pay the fine and avoid future stress by ceasing to use the library, the librarian, moved by the author's dedication to reading, chose to cover the cost herself. This act of generosity was followed by multiple phone calls from the librarian to ensure the author knew the debt was cleared and that she was welcome to return. The author plans to express her gratitude through a personalized thank you card and intends to continue using the library's resources.

Opinions

  • The author initially felt overwhelmed by the stress of the situation and was prepared to stop visiting the library to avoid future incidents.
  • The librarian demonstrated exceptional empathy and understanding, recognizing the author's and her son's frequent use of the library and their contribution to the library's community.
  • The author holds librarians in high regard, considering them to be exceptionally kind individuals, as evidenced by the librarian's willingness to pay the fine on her behalf.
  • The author values the library as a source of new and specialized books, despite having a substantial collection at home.
  • The author is deeply appreciative of the librarian's actions, which have reinforced her positive opinion of library staff and her intention to remain an active member of the library community.

one of the things that made yesterday hellish was that somehow two of the books i checked out for my son from our local library were wet. my day was going horrible and I had just finish crying and praying in the whole foods parking lot when i got a call from the libarary less than 20 minutes after i dropped off the books saying i’d have to pay $40 for two children’s book. i went back to the library to look at the damage and sure enough the books were wet. how? idk. anyway, this afternoon she called me and said that she wanted to pay the $40 for the damaged books. she said she thought about me all night. said she knew how often i come to the library and how my son is on their wall for having 500 books read to him and didn’t want me owing them $40 to stop me from coming in. i was going to pay it and never go back. not because of them, but because i just didn’t want add any additional stressors of messing up books and having to pay again and again. my son have nearly 1,000 books of his own. seriously, but for new books or books on certain topics i go to the library. she called me three times, back to back, wanted to make sure that she got a hold of me to let me know that she had paid my $40 balance and that i can come back and pick up the books that are damaged (but still can make use of reading) up. tomorrow, i’m going to sit down and write her a nice thank you card and use some paint to put over my son’s hand as a way for him to sign the card. librarians are truly the sweetest people in the world. ❤

Libraries
Librarians
Books
Kindness
Stress
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