Bill fans family distress

By Jade Lawton
A PAKENHAM family who lost everything they own in a house fire last month were asked to cough up $300 to replace burnt library books.
The Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation, which operates Pakenham Library, waived the fees this week after being contacted by the Gazette.
Rhana Walker had 10 children’s books on loan for her five-year-old daughter Taylah when their home and its contents were destroyed in the blaze. Mrs Walker went in to Pakenham Library on Friday 17 September and told the attendant that the books were gone.
“She came back and gave me an itemised bill for about $300,” she said.
“I was shocked. It was just another thing to worry about on top everything else.”
Mrs Walker said the books were not in perfect condition, with some being held together with sticky-tape.
Taylah, an avid reader, also lost all her own books.
When a friend of Rhana’s posted a comment about her treatment on the Gazette facebook page, others also expressed outrage at the decision.
“Are you flipping kidding me? Well there goes my membership,” Nola Ellis said.
“I actually know that family. Nice one library. Great respect for your community.”
Another suggested it would be more appropriate for the library to donate books to the family.
Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation Acting CEO Marika Szendroe said the bill was an unfortunate mix-up and not the library’s usual policy.
“What the staff member did originally was take the books off the card and put them as lost, so they wouldn’t get overdues.
“Normally what would happen is it would get passed on to a manager,” she said.
“So we are sorry, we do apologise for that.
“With those horrible bushfires (Black Saturday) we waived fines for anyone remotely connected to that and that’s what should have happened here.”
Ms Szendroe said the fines were wiped from Mrs Walker’s account as soon as she became aware of the oversight.
Mrs Walker said she was relieved.
“That’s terrific,” she said.