The public library is an amazing resource for people of all ages, but especially for families with young children. With a library card, kids have access to a wide range of physical books, magazines, audiobooks, special programs, and more. The only thing families have to watch out for are those pesky due dates that have a way of suddenly creeping up.
Unfortunately, one stay-at-home mom in Texas, Kaylee Morgan, returned a batch of books to her local library more than a month late. Not only did she discover a warrant for her arrest, but she's also facing a hefty fine. And all this over late library books? Let's take a closer look.
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The Texas mom learned about a warrant for her arrest when she went to renew her driver's license.
Morgan had no idea there was a warrant out for her arrest until she attempted to renew her driver's license. That's when she learned about the warrant for theft of government property because she returned library books from Navasota Public Library late.
"I was so angry. I was sad and mad," she told NBC News. "The whole week leading up to court I couldn’t decide if I wanted to laugh or cry."
Morgan also faced a nearly $600 fine.
In addition to the warrant, Morgan was slapped with a $570 ticket. This is because of a city ordinance stating that failing to return library items within 30 days of the due date results in the suspension of a library card. On top of that, failure to respond to the letter of complaint within 10 days results in a misdemeanor criminal offense, per NBC News.
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According to the mom, all of the books were returned roughly a month late.
The incident stems from when the mom of five checked out five or six books from the Texas library in March 2023. Morgan explained she was pregnant at the time and suffering from extreme morning sickness, among other complications. When her husband reportedly dropped off the books (except for one that didn't fit in the drop box), they were between a few weeks to a month late. Later, Morgan's stepson reportedly returned the final book inside the library.
The library sent late notices to one of Morgan's old addresses.
Navasota Public Library reportedly sent an overdue notice to Morgan on April 10, 2023, before mailing a final notice one week later. However, Morgan said she didn't receive the late notices because they were mailed to an old address. The library reportedly never called her about the books, either.
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She raised money to pay for the fine.
"I offered to pay for the books. I offered to pay for the late fees but I cannot pay $600," Morgan told NBC. "I understand that we have deadlines for a reason and all of those things, but there has to be a better way to cultivate community engagement, instead of tearing the community apart."
Morgan started a GoFundMe campaign (which met its goal) to raise funds for the fine. The goal has since been increased to pay for legal costs, KHOU reported.
