the papers report that borrower fines owed to the national library came to over 5.4 million dollars, and that the board eventually were forced to "write off $3.5 million in unpaid fines for the 2005-06 financial year." my father, who has the right general idea about my blameworthy ways, showed this article to me as soon as i came down to breakfast, and did so in a meaningful tone of voice, but he has got quite the wrong end of the stick. i confess i do work up crippling library fines in both school and public libraries in every place that i've lived in, but the fines are crippling to me, not the lending institution, and always do i hand over money readily (though without soul-tainting remorse.) at present the only library to which i owe money is the cambridge public library, but i was truly impoverished at the time (and it was an awful long way to go in the snow and they don't send you reminder notices.) i don't deny that i always harbour hopes that general library amnesties will be declared, though that hope doesn't extend to non-payment in the present.