CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Have you ever been late to return a library book? Typically, you're charged a fee, your ability to borrow books could be restricted, and more. However, according to one former City of Corpus Christi employee, there's no consequence at all.
Alex Hatley worked for the city's Library Department since 1989 before retiring in January. In the nearly four decades with the city, he’s worn many hats overseeing local libraries.
One of those positions was systems librarian. In that time, Hatley said he noticed an "alarming" trend: Books are being taken, but fines are not being collected.
"I know of accounts where people owe $1,500, and they don't care," Hatley told KRIS 6. "They know they have the fines. They know they have the fees. They know they have the books."
According to data collected by Hatley from the start of 2020 to January of this year, $1,048,542.81 is currently owed in lost, damaged, and late fees.
However, by Hatley’s estimates, the owed amount is likely more than $2 million. "We have fines and lost items back to when the system originally automated in 1986." Hatley also added that some of the accounts belong to "people who aren't even alive anymore."
Hatley explained that in the mid-2000s, the city hired a collection agency in hopes of recovering some of the losses from unpaid fines. However, the 2008 housing market crash led to the effort being ineffective.
"People decided, 'I'm going to save my house. I'm not going to worry that I owe money,'" Hatley said.
The collection agency's partnership with the city was discontinued in 2012.
According to a spreadsheet provided to 6 Investigates by Hatley, the Ben F. McDonald Public Library has the highest number of unclaimed fees, followed by La Retama Central Library and the Janet F. Harte Public Library, each of which had over a hundred instances of fees that were never paid.
The trend among the top libraries in Hatley’s data shows that DVDs and electronics are the most common items to be lost. Hatley noted incidents regarding hotspots.
Hotspots are mobile devices that can be checked out at libraries to access the Internet. According to Hatley, the department started checking out hotspots as part of a grant awarded to them. However, this service was discontinued in December 2023.
"When we check out anything technology-related, we know we're going to lose a lot of them," he said.
Another trend Hatley has seen over the years is families "abusing the system."
"We have a lot of families where one or both parents have large fines, so they get a card for their kid. Then they rack up fines on that. Then they get another card for the other kid," Hatley told KRIS 6. "They don't want to pay because there's no consequence for not paying."
In 2017, Hatley took his findings and reported them to the city's fraud, waste and abuse hotline. However, Hatley says no action was taken.
"Municipal court actually said it's not worth our time," Hatley added.
When discussing the city's response to the matter over the years, Hatley expressed frustration toward the department’s budget. "The library is one department in the city that gets the most cuts when stuff needs to be cut." He continued, "We have the money. It's out there. People owe us the money."
On Tuesday, Hatley spoke during public comment at the City of Corpus Christi’s council meeting. "There are things my department is doing that are being hidden from the council and the public," Hatley told the council. "It's over a million dollars and over 14,000 lost items, just lost."
"The library does nothing to recoup those books or that cost. That’s enough money to run one branch for an entire fiscal year," he said.
Following his public comment, Mayor Paulette Guajardo directed City Manager Peter Zanoni to look into the allegations and provide a report to the City Council.
When speaking with Hatley, he suggested a potential solution: implementing credit reports for all late and lost fees. "If you lose 20 books, we credit report it."
Hatley noted that during their time with the collection agency, credit reports were in place. "We had people still saying, 'It's on my credit report.'" He continued, "It's going to stay on there because you never took care of it for at least seven years."
The City of Corpus Christi issued the following statement to KRIS 6 News:
On average, over the last five years, approximately $57,645 has been uncollected in fees for unreturned or damaged materials and overdue fines annually across six public libraries. The report provided to KRIS-TV appears to cover approximately 17 years. Loss of inventory occurs as part of business operations. It is widely understood in the library industry that fees are partially unrecoverable.
The City of Corpus Christi is committed to financial stewardship and will continue working with the Finance Department to ensure appropriate policies are in place.
In 2006, the City hired a collection agency to collect unpaid library fines of over $25. By 2012, the cost of collections exceeded the amount collected.
The City also considered using the Municipal Court to collect unpaid fees. However, it was determined that significant challenges existed in criminalizing library violations, including enforcement, prosecution and collection of court judgments.
Current efforts to collect lost fees include the following:The City of Corpus Christi is not alone in this issue. Libraries nationwide face similar challenges, and many have stopped charging overdue fines entirely.
- Advance notice is sent via email before the item’s due date. Patrons may also request notices via text message.
- Payment plans are available.
- Payment is available online and at self-checkout stations.
- Patrons with outstanding fines of $5 or more cannot check out items.
The City supports the Corpus Christi Public Libraries' mission: to improve literacy, enhance knowledge, and create a sense of community by making useful information easily accessible to the Corpus Christi area.
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