The library's "Lost Book" fee is a flat $50. The type of item, the in-print status, or replacement cost are not considered in assessing this fee. In most cases, $50 does not cover the replacement cost.

Replacing a lost book is not as simple as buying another copy and putting a call number label on the spine. The cost of replacing a book can be divided into two categories - time and materials. Librarians, support staff, and students are all involved in the ordering and processing of a book. The cost of materials is small, however, fees for third party services associated with processing a book are significant.

The following tasks are involved in processing a book. The type of person responsible for the task is in parentheses.

• Verifying that the book is lost and frequent correspondence with the patron (support staff and students)
• Identifying the replacement copy, ordering it, and receiving it (librarian and support staff)
• Creating a cataloging record for the replacement copy (librarian and service fee)
• All paperbacks are bound by a third party (service fee)
• Material preparation - call number label, security strip, due date slip (students)
• If an exact match cannot be found, a search is made to locate a suitable replacement (librarian)

Contact Carla Todd for more information.