Libraries always seem so great, in theory. Free, unfettered access to a tremendous selection of books and movies. It's so easy to let yourself get inspired to check out The Brothers Karamazov or Citizen Kane, to let yourself believe the library will make you a better person. And it might. It might also make you, in the eyes of banks and other lenders, a poor credit risk.
Borrowers from the nation's largest library systems rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overdue fines and unreturned materials every year. Now, 900 libraries, such as the Queens and New York Public Library systems, have turned to Unique Management Services, a collection agency that reports the 30% of overdue borrowers who fail to respond to repeated requests for payment to credit bureaus. One rabbi who ignored Unique's threatening letters found he no longer had the perfect credit record he had been depending on to get a mortgage.
And if a rabbi can't remember to return his books on time, what chance do the rest of us have? I'm going to Borders, just to be safe. I may have to pay more upfront but at least I won't have any problem getting a house to keep my books in.
