Four people have received prank calls in the past two weeks regarding excessive fines for overdue books from Parks Library. The prankster has not yet been identified.

The circulation desk was notified about the pranks by the recipients of the calls. Wayne Pederson, acting head of Access Services at Parks Library, said the caller warned each person to pay overdue fees. However, none of the people had overdue books.

The caller also may have said some malicious remarks, he said.

“I certainly hate to see any kind of prank calls,” Pederson said. “I especially don’t like seeing the library’s name involved. It is hard to say what is motivating this individual or these individuals. We at the library disclaim any of this activity.”

The first reported incident occurred two weeks ago, and there have been two more prank calls this week, he said.

“I think it’s unfortunate that someone played this prank. [The perpetrator] is clearly not realizing that they are causing inconvenience and anxiety to people,” said David Gregory, acting assistant to the director of public services at Parks Library.

Parks Library does not call people about overdue book fines. When users have overdue fines, their library cards are put on hold. Notices are then sent to them.

Parks Library has notified the Department of Public Safety about the prank calls.

Anyone who receives prank calls is urged to contact DPS.