• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • 2021 Town Election
  • Bulletin Board
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Time for Mrs. Swellesley to pay up at Wellesley Free Library

March 21, 2019 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

Just last week I was on the Wellesley Free Library‘s list of Ten Most-Wanted fugitive patrons, and deservedly so. I’d checked out three books and lost them all. (If you must know, they were Bowlaway, by Elizabeth McCracken; On the Same Page, by N.D. Galland; and  Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari.) Not a single one of them made it from my car to the house. Instead, all of them ended up in the used books area at the Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility. A Facebook commenter was incredulous. “I don’t understand – people bring their library books to the dump? Who the heck does that?”

Another commenter came to my rescue with the simple words, “It was a mistake.” Thank you for recognizing that, N.R.

Wellesley Free Library
Wellesley Free Library Director Jamie Jurgensen, right, accepts a check from Mrs. Swellesley for a lost library book.

That mistake brought me to a dark place where I teetered on the edge of rescinded library privileges. But before that scenario could move from nightmare to reality, I appealed to The Swellesley Report readership, and my call was answered. Thanks to our sharp-eyed readers, Bowlaway and On the Same Page were found at the RDF and returned to the library. There was just one more lost book to be found. I prayed for an Amazing Grace ending to the story as I renewed Sapiens. The renewal period ended, and there was still no sign of the non-fiction trade paperback. I tried to get more time, but the online system informed me that someone else was waiting to read about a brief history of humankind. The appeals process exhausted, I admitted defeat and wrote a check for the $23 cost of the book. It was an expensive consequence, but at least I’m back to a clean slate. For now. If you’ve been following this story, you know that I’m what might be called a challenging library patron. That means I lose books at a clip of around one a year. I’m not proud.

We had a good question from a reader who has felt my pain: “When I lose a book, why can’t I order one on Amazon and bring it in as the replacement book? Why do I have to pay full retail price to the WFL to resolve the issue? It’s frustrating when I know that I can get it cheaper but am not allowed to.”

According to Elise MacLennan, the library’s Assistant Director, “The cost of replacing a book can be divided into two categories: time and materials. Librarians and support staff are involved. First question – should we even replace it with the exact same thing? Perhaps there is a new edition or a newer book with better information. Librarians decide. Then every item goes through prep for borrowing, which includes cataloging, labeling, covering, etc. Each type of material has a different process.”

On the lam

During my time as a fugitive, I brazenly visited the library anyway. We felons are like that, always returning to the scene of our crimes. I would go in just to visit the shelves where the lost books used to live. I wanted to see if the librarians left those spaces empty, the way the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum curators leave an empty frame to mark the spot where Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee hung before it was stolen in 1990.

Turns out Wellesley librarians aren’t as dramatic as all that. They simply shelve books as they always do, in straight and even rows, leaving no gaps to mark the tragic disappearance of books.

Now that I’m back in the good graces of the library, I feel so unburdened. All it took was a little checkbook penance to get my record all tidied up. I didn’t have to hire a lawyer. No one measured me for an orange jumpsuit. There will be no time-consuming visits with a parole officer.

Wellesley library card
Mrs. Swellesley’s fancy new library card.

As long as I was at the circulation desk handing over my check to Wellesley Free Library Director Jamie Jurgensen, I decided to complete the fresh start and get a brand-new library card because mine was ratty with curling edges and a nearly worn-out bar code. At least I think that’s why I got a new card. Maybe I couldn’t bear the idea of handing over a check and getting nothing in return. Some time in analysis with a good Freudian therapist could probably untangle this web of emotions, but who has time to lie on a couch and dredge up the unconscious? Seems easier to just leave my “losing” books issues buried and deal with the outcomes when I backslide.

For now, I’ll bask in the glow of my returned respectability, impermanent though both glow and respectability may be.

READ THE WHOLE BOOK-LOSING SAGA:

Chapter 1: Mr. Swellesley leaves library books at Wellesley RDF; Mrs. Swellesley mad as all get-out

Chapter 2: Update: readers rescue almost all Wellesley library books we left at the dump

SUPPORT SWELLESLEY: Here’s how to Advertise and/or Donate to support our independent journalism venture

print

Share

Filed Under: Books, Humor, Wellesley Free Library

Comments

  1. Mary Bowers says

    March 22, 2019 at 3:22 pm

    Thought you’d lost your old library card, too! Phew! Loved this post, Deb !

    Reply
  2. Lady Jane of Wellesley says

    March 22, 2019 at 7:31 am

    Suggest a Wellesley Free Library BOOK BAG ($2.00 each) to support WFL, get organized and avoid future apple cart upsets.

    Reply
    • bbrown says

      March 22, 2019 at 11:07 am

      Not a bad idea, thanks, TSR

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Fran's Flowers
Clearhaven Recovery

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
The Moving-Pictures Company
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
covid vaccine
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Most Read Posts

  • Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-In—no appointment needed
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Bank branch to close; New bank coming to town, sort of; Celebrating women-owned businesses
  • Babson to the rescue: Survey seeks to get to bottom of Wellesley Square issues
  • Town mourns Wellesley High Building Manager Tom Zinck
  • Wellesley Police log: Suspected opiate overdose proves fatal; service dog calms child; man headed to court for unauthorized dumping

Events Calendar

« April 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Tue 13

STEM panel discussion

April 13 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Wed 14

Fairies, Frogs, and Damsels (online program)

April 14 @ 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Thu 15

Meeting and Discussion with 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss

April 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Thu 15

Wellesley’s Sustainable Mobility Plan online forum

April 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Thu 22

Ben Franklin, The Early Years: Wellesley Historical Society online lecture

April 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Pages

  • Guidelines for Letters to the Editor
  • How to submit your flyer for the Community Bulletin Board page
  • Wellesley Community Bulletin Board
  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Cynthia Kelly on Town mourns Wellesley High Building Manager Tom Zinck
  • Sue Morris on WHS senior scavenger hunt to blanket Wellesley
  • Michael Auclair on Town mourns Wellesley High Building Manager Tom Zinck
  • Kelley Downey on Wellesley Business Buzz: Bank branch to close; New bank coming to town, sort of; Celebrating women-owned businesses
  • MICHAEL GUARNIERI on Select Board makes Indigenous Peoples Day official in Wellesley

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (21)
  • Animals (387)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (544)
  • Beyond Wellesley (30)
  • Books (345)
  • Business (1,381)
  • Careers/jobs (45)
  • Churches (73)
  • Clubs (211)
  • Construction (281)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,918)
    • Babson College (244)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (49)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (600)
    • Wellesley High School (895)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (52)
  • Entertainment (728)
  • Environment (679)
  • Fashion (134)
  • Finance (13)
  • Fire (144)
  • Food (328)
  • Fundraising (565)
  • Gardens (137)
  • Government (422)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (759)
    • COVID-19 (151)
  • History (360)
  • Holidays (367)
  • Houses (121)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (819)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (12)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (97)
  • Music (545)
  • Natick Report (28)
  • Neighbors (252)
  • Obituaries (62)
  • Outdoors (588)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (702)
    • Crime (356)
  • Politics (545)
  • Real estate (293)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (306)
  • Safety (143)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (111)
  • Shopping (123)
  • Sports (906)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (158)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (212)
  • Travel (12)
  • Uncategorized (1,212)
  • Volunteering (319)
  • Weather (168)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (259)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login