Union Opposition Shelves SFPL Overdue Plan.(San Francisco Public Library)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

The San Francisco board of supervisors voted 6-5 March 19 to reject a plan to hire a collection agency to retrieve library materials that were 60 days or more overdue. The proposal by the San Francisco Public Library administration, which had the backing of the Library Commission, was aimed at stemming an annual loss of some 25,000 items--about 1% of the collection--at a cost of about $500,000.

Under the plan, the library would have sent delinquent borrowers three notices, after which the case would have been turned over to Unique Management Services, which contracts with some 300 libraries nationwide and nearly 50 in California. At that point a $10 collection fee would be …