Thiruvananthapuram: Owing to wanton disregard for the rules of borrowing, hundreds of irresponsible 'book lovers' have pushed the State Central Library here into financial liability of a whopping Rs 80 lakh. The amount sums up the total dues of not returning the books to the library since 1970. The total cost of the books that never returned to the shelves is only Rs 8 lakh as the majority of them were old.

The remaining Rs 72 lakh amounts to the hefty fine accumulated over the years. Errant patrons have landed the authorities in deep trouble as they have so far failed to recover the money from its erring members. Though the library authorities have approached the government to write off the hefty amount, it only struck down the cost of the books worth Rs 8 lakh.

The financial hassles continue for the Central Library as numerous paper works required to collect the pending amount is caught in the red tape at various village offices in the state.

The recovery procedures for the books that went missing since 1970 were initiated only in 2000. Tracing the address of the borrowers was the most taxing job as most of them turned out to be fake ones. This was because library membership, in those days, was easily obtained by producing a certified paper from a gazetted officer.

Dead end at village offices

Postal expenses also went up subsequently when the library started sending out recovery letters to the defaulters. As per the norm, the village offices concerned are bound to undertake the recovery measures once the collectorates forward the letters. Unfortunately, the procedures faced an abrupt end once the letters reach village offices.

SMSes fail to serve purpose

Decades ago, librarians would send letters to borrowers at regular intervals reminding to return the books. The practice was gradually replaced by sending SMS to phone numbers given by the members at the time of enrolling. If the borrower fails to return the book after three SMSes, a letter would be sent by registered post.

In addition to these measures, special adalats are conducted offering a 20% waiver of fine for the defaulters who take the offers for granted and are nevertheless bothered about their obligation or responsibility, say the authorities. "Instead of returning to the library, the members admit to lending the book to their close friends who in turn pass it on to their friends. And 'the act of giving' gets extended to a longer and wider network, but never do the books find their way back to the real owner," they said.

Sadly, the callousness has taken a toll on the priced collection of rare old books, which matters more than the financial burden, say the staff of the nearly two-century-old Public Library, as it is popularly called.