From a NYT editorial today:
It turns out the library can do more than just shush you. If you accumulate enough unpaid late fees, some New York libraries are ready to hit you where it really hurts: your credit score. They have reported millions of dollars in such bad debts. Most people make good before their creditworthiness is damaged. But there is something chilling in this kind of threat from a library.
I don’t see the problem here. You take a book from the library, you get fined. If you don’t pay the fines, you are a collection issue. Debt is debt, and the library deserves its money back just like any other debtor.
This editorial says that debt from libraries is different, that is is distateful for such a good and pure institution to come after a borrower with something as low and tawdry as a collection agency.
But exactly what is so special about libraries? If I run up credit card debt and don’t pay it, I suffer all sorts of financial penalties, including a ding to my credit score. It doesn’t matter if that debt was incurred by paying for prostitutes or Proust, debt is debt. Nor does it matter that the debt is from the government. If I don’t pay my parking tickets or property taxes, I suffer the consequences.