Florida Librarians Create Fake Patron To Keep Books

SORRENTO, Fla. (AP) — To keep infrequently used library books on shelves, two Florida librarians created a fictitious person to take out tomes, and now the county has since requested a system-wide audit of its libraries

The Orlando Sentinel reports Chuck Finley checked out 2,361 books at the East Lake County Library in a nine-month period.

His selections ranged from "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck to a children's book called "Why Do My Ears Pop?" by Ann Fullick.

The goal behind the creation of Finley was to insure that certain books stayed in the library. Books that aren't used for a long period can be discarded and removed from the library system.

After allegations by an unidentified person in November, an investigation by the Lake County clerk of courts inspector general's office concluded that Finley was a fake, and the county requested the audit.

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