Hacker News Reader

Comment by ejb999 | Hacker News Reader

>>There is no need for late fees when libraries can use much simpler and more effective incentives like not allowing you to check out more books until you return the ones you have.

You just come back and get a new library card under another name...just keep taking out more books and selling them on ebay; that will become a cottage industry. suckers, i mean taxpayers, will just have to make up the difference.

View on HN

So what's to stop you doing this today? If you're able to use fake names why would you care about fines that can't be tracked to you?

If the market for stolen books is so pervasive that I end up footing the bill for libraries to recoup their losses, I will happily foot that tax bill.

But in practice, this seems about as much a problem as voter fraud: not a problem at all, despite how many people in this comment thread seem horrified by the risks of it.

So, other big city libraries have already done this.

Somehow they haven't developed "cottage industries" in selling library books on ebay.

I think there are probably many easier ways to make money. But that's just my guess. Regardless of the reason... it hasn't happened.

This is already possible today, and yet it doesn't appear to be an issue plaguing libraries.

I don't know about NYPL but where I live getting a library card requires more ID than registering to vote. I wouldn't be surprised if they already have measures in place against patrons opening multiple accounts.

This change is only about late fees. People who don't return books are still subject to replacement fees under the new system.

There will always be a small subset of people who will abuse any system. Unless/Until this becomes a big enough problem, going after these people isn’t necessary, in my opinion. NYPL can always bring the fines back, if/wham it does become a big enough issue

In what way does the late-fee policy prevent this?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com