Here’s a little bit of news-you-can-use to pass along to your friend, family member or neighbor because you don’t need it; you always return books on time, right?

By the numbers

• 28.7 percent of materials are still checked out one day after the due date.
• 10.6 percent of materials are still checked out after overdue notices have been sent
• 4.2 percent of materials are still checked out after two notices have been sent
• Materials most likely to be overdue are in Adult Nonfiction and Juvenile Nonfiction

So next time your friend or family member comments “oh darn, I still have that book that’s now overdue at the library” you can smartly reply, “did you know you can sign up to receive pre-overdue and late-due notices via email.”

Introducing notice.tscpl.org, your friend (or rather, your friend’s friend) when it comes to meeting your due dates. When you receive an email from notice.tscpl.org, it’s not spam. Don’t delete it; it contains valuable information that could help expedite the return of checked-out items, thus allowing more items to be available for patrons. In addition, this service cuts down on the paper and postage costs associated with mailing out late-due notices and it saves trees.

We’ll still mail out late-due notices to those who don’t have an inbox, but only subscribers to our email service will receive pre-overdue notices. So why not sign up today?

Here’s how it works. Subscribers will receive a pre-overdue notice three days before their item is due. They will also receive a late-due notice after those three days are up. Many parents use this service to keep tabs on when their children’s books are due (not your children, of course; they have committed their due dates to memory, right?).

To sign up, log on to www.tscpl.org and click “My Account” in the upper right-hand side. Enter the barcode (from your library card) and your PIN and click Login. Under the My Account tab, click Profile, and add your email address. Don’t forget to hit Update.

Once that’s done, our librarians will receive a message to add you to the list of people who (admit it or not) are like you and need a little reminder once and awhile.

How late is too late?

The library sends out an overdue notice seven days after the due date expires. If the item is still not returned, a second notice is sent 35 days after the original due date. At 49 days, a bill is sent and a charge for that item is placed on the customer’s account. The customer still has the opportunity to bring the book back, but if it is not returned six months after the original due date, the customer must pay replacement costs.