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QUESTION: How can we justify using a material recovery service when we are going to ask the public for more funding?
ANSWER: By recovering significant amounts of long overdue materials and fines, the library demonstrates strong stewardship of community resources and responsible customer service. This way library boards and management can demonstrate pro-activity and effective resource management when confronted with questions and thus enhances the probability of obtaining approval for more funding.
The Facts:
Good Stewardship
The return of long overdue materials helps the library improve its circulation. The items that are long overdue tend to be the newer, most popular items. Returning them to the shelves increases the library's circulation numbers and better meets the needs of the community.
The return of materials helps the library substantially reduce its expense for collection replacement.
When the library uses our service as recommended, we guarantee positive revenue for the library - if the library meets certain criteria at least enough cash is returned to the library to cover our service costs. Unique Management Services produces revenue for most of our clients.
Our return on investment averages $4.00 in returned materials and cash for each $1.00 invested among all of our 450 customers across North America. This is a very powerful return on the library's, and taxpayers, investment.
Customer Service
While petitioning the community for resources a Library can show that they are fiscally responsible with what they have already been entrusted.
Usually only about 1% of patrons are long overdue, however, this adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars and often the most popular books are not available. Our service protects the resources for the other 99% of patrons.
Unique Management Services' "gentle nudge" approach helps patrons resolve their obligation to the library and return to the library as customers/patrons in good standing.
What Libraries Have Experienced With Unique:
"Deschutes Public Library Hires Collection Agency to Better Its Assets" http://www.dpls.lib.or.us/
"The library is committed to protecting its assets so we can better serve patrons and maintain good fiscal practices," said Library Director Michael Gaston. "The irresponsible patrons are charged the collection fee of $10 which covers the library's costs. The library remains fiscally neutral and library materials get back where they belong. It's a win-win solution."
"The book stops here: Seattle librarians get tough on overdue titles." By Janet Burkitt. Seattle Times. January 30, 2000.
"Unique Management Services isn't your ordinary collection agency. The staff is trained in something called the ‘gentle nudge approach.' And the librarians say things have gone swimmingly. During a three-month trial with Unique, they took in an extra $33,000 in fines. What truly warmed their hearts, though, was the more than $67,000 in books, videos, and CDs they got back (way more than usual, they say, though they don't normally keep track of exact numbers.)"
"Library collection service nets 1,500 books and $21,000 in fines." By Mark S. Schantz. The Suncoast News. February 11, 1998.
"Cindy Boda, the library system's accountant, said taxpayers' money saved through materials returned enables the library to spend funds on new books and tapes, rather than replacing lost items."
Summary:
Using Unique Management Services' material recovery service shows strong fiscal management and good stewardship of tax-funded resources. It will help justify the bond issue or millage increase.
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