I have been going to Great Falls Public Library for 18 years, have sent plenty of money their way, and have never had a problem with paying late fees or $40 for the one book called The Montessori Method that my daughter drew on almost 10 years ago when she was 2 years old... Now, they want us to pay for a book that we certainly did not damage. So, we have to pay for a mistake they've made or not check out books anymore. Shame on Susie!
My children are avid readers, and we have checked out thousands of books combined. This is the first time I have had to (or wanted to) put my foot down over a fine, and I find that the process is not acceptable.
There was slightly muddy looking splatter around two of the outside edges and one side of the cover supporting the possibility that the inside of the book drop where it slides in was wet or that someone dropped it getting it out after I returned it to the book drop on a rainy day. So, it was either damaged going into the drop or by someone who took it out. The mud by our house is light tan and thick and not a thin and deeper colored liquid like what's on that book.
We checked them out on a dry day, took them home in grocery bags, we put them back into the car undamaged in grocery bags, then they went directly into the book drop. That was the first one dropped in.
They would not send us pics. When I went in to view the book to see if there was any chance it resembled the soil by our house the librarian who retrieved it and showed it to me took a moment to find the damage herself because it was so subtle. There were no wrinkled edges, so it had not been sitting in water nor had it gotten any significant amount of water on it. When she flipped through it the inside pages were pristine.
Shame on Susie for being so unreasonable and not using common sense in this case!