Florida Library Signs Unique Collector for Fines

Manatee (Fla.) County Library recently awarded a collection contract to Unique Management Services, Inc., Jeffersonville, Ind., to recover fines from the approximately 1,300 patrons who have more than $25 outstanding and are more than six months delinquent in their accounts, said John Van Berkel, the system’s library services manager.

“Some individuals do borrow materials and forget to return them forever,” Van Berkel said. “We have sent overdue notices at six days and 30 days after an item is due. Now when we send the 30-day notice, it will include [a note] that if they don’t clear this in 30 days, the matter will be turned over to our collection agency.”

Though the county uses a variety of collection agencies to collect outstanding payments, the agreement with Unique is the first time that the library system has hired a collection agency, according to Van Berkel. He added that the move was necessitated by budget constraints that forced the library system to increase its funds.

Van Berkel didn’t have any projections for the amount that might be collected through the collection agency. That uncertainty was the reason the library system opted for a percentage of recovery payments agreement rather than a flat $8.95 per account, another option that Unique offered in its RFP to the county.

A major factor for selecting Unique, according to Van Berkel, is that the company works strictly with library collections.

Unique has formed strategic partnerships with many of the library-automation vendors, including SirsiDynix, TLC/CARL, Innovative Interfaces, Polaris, Infor, and VTLS, to allow its clients to compile and transmit account information automatically.