accompanying fine. He speaks loudly and defensively, complaining that the book was not overdue and that he should not have to pay a charge. The teacher ignores his disruptive manner of speaking and focuses on what he says. She is calm, and he rather quickly calms down. She explains to him that although he turned in the book in the drop slot late the designated day, the book is officially overdue because it is not processed until the next day. He says that that is unfair and unreasonable and that he did not know about that part of the library rule. The librarian decides to not charge the fine as this was the student's first offense.
The librarian was highly effective in defusing the argument by keeping her voice and manner calm in spite of the student's agitation. She was flexible enough to break her own rule to allow the student to save face.
A recommendation is that the librarian print up small inserts which explain the late fee policy. These
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