School is out and the library is busy! We have the summer reading program, lunch bunch, and pre-school story hours for children all happening at the library. Call the children’s library for more information at (320) 762-3013.

Last week we began e-mail notification for our library users. They are asked to register their e-mail address at the library front desk; they will then receive e-mails on overdue items, pre-overdue notices, hold requests, holds cancelled and holds expired.

Pre-overdue notices will be sent three days before items are due as a reminder. Notices will also be sent on items that have been put on reserve and are now in the library waiting for pick-up.

This new service will save us a good amount of time and money currently spent on processing the over dues, postage and three-part mailers, and notifying people by telephone that items are in for them.

On Mondays we sometimes have more than 80 phone calls to make.

Call or stop in and give us your e-mail address so we can begin this new enhanced library service for you. Those who do not have e-mail will still receive notices by mail.

We have been thinking of ways to save money and one way is to not send so many overdue notices. We currently send out a first, second and third notice and we need to cut back to one or two notices.

Another way to save money is to not allow overdue fines to remain on library accounts. People can now check out library materials if they have library fines that are less than $10. We have many people who have fines less than $10 and the fine remains on their account for months as they continue to check out more library materials.

Beginning July 1, we are instituting a “no tolerance” policy on overdue fines. If you have a fine on your library account you will not be allowed to check out any library materials until that fine is paid in full. It has always been our policy that if you have overdue books you cannot check out more books, so we are now adding fines to that policy.

The best way to avoid library fines is to bring back the items when they are due. The library only works if everyone plays by the rules.

On a more positive note, the Friends of the Library group is working on more programming. Members have contacted the Minnesota Crime Wave, a group of Minnesota mystery writers, about coming to Alexandria in the fall. Watch this column for more details