Patrons of William E. Anderson Library of Penn Hills who are lax about returning library materials soon will realize the importance of ending that bad habit.

The library will use a collection agency, Unique Management Services, to recover late materials and fines, starting June 1.

"The library is serious about recovering overdue materials. Patrons who do not return materials are stealing from the library," said Mary Ann Zeak, acting library director.

"Fortunately, only a very small percentage of patrons using the library do not return materials as agreed."

Fees the collection agency charges will be passed on to delinquent patrons, she said.

For more than 30 years, the library has taken delinquent patrons to Penn Hills district court.

The magisterial district judge office recently asked the library to provide more forms of identification of delinquent patrons due to a new state law, Zeak said.

The library does not have the minimum of at least three forms of identification for its patrons required to file complaints, so it will use another method against delinquent patrons, Zeak said.

When patrons have accumulated at least $25 in fines for overdue materials, the library will notify them to return their materials and pay the fines before the collection agency is contacted, she said.

The daily fine for each overdue book is 10 cents.

The fine is $1 per day for each overdue DVD, video and CD-ROM.

The library doesn't restrict how many items patrons can borrow.

The number of patrons who do not return their materials on time has been gradually increasing in the past few years, Zeak said.

Usually, the library has to use its own money to replace non-returned materials, instead of buying new materials, she said.

Zeak learned about Unique Management Services from a pilot program Allegheny County Library Association tried with the company

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Andrew Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie and Mt. Lebanon Public Library also use the company's services.

Unique Management Services works with more than 850 libraries throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom by recovering overdue materials and fines. The company is based in Jeffersonville, Ind., according to its Web site.

Unique Management Services' Web site reports that in general, within the first year, most libraries can expect to see a response rate of 60 to 70 percent or higher.

The company's schedule for dealing with reported delinquent patrons is: day one, letter; day 22, second letter; days 36 to 49, phone calls; day 64, third letter; days 78 to 91, phone calls; and days 120 to 151, credit reported, according to Unique Management Services' Web site.