Friday, December 3, 2010

Circulation Notes: Overdue/Lost Book Enforcement

We wanted to add an informative blog entry, as fair warning, to the Facebook posts and signs that have been placed in and around the library for over a month. Please note that Circulation/Reserves will soon start enforcing overdue policies by blocking student accounts for the use of all reserve materials, including reserve textbooks and library laptops. This policy goes into effect at the start of the new calendar year: January 1, 2011.

At the start of next month, Patrons with overdue, unreturned materials on their library account will no longer have reserve privileges until the missing material is returned, replaced, or paid for.

How do you avoid this dire fate?

Simple: Return you books and other library materials on time. Or renew them before they are due. (For details on renewing, see http://www.suffolk.edu/sawlib/renewbooks.htm )

Check your Suffolk-issued email. The Library will send you an email when your materials are overdue. Pay attention to your due dates and get the materials back in a timely manner. (If you get a notice about an item that you think you returned, don’t ignore it. Talk to the folks at Circulation/Reserves.)

Need to check to see what you have out? You can determine this online. See https://library.law.suffolk.edu/patroninfo~S6 or click the "View Your Circulation Record" link from the online catalog search page (as illustrated below)

Take advantage of our Extended Amnesty Period:

Return your (even overdue) books, videos, etc., in December and all is forgiven.

What if you lost the book?

If you can provide us with the exact equivalent edition of the exact same book, we will also forgive all charges.

What if your account IS blocked in January?

First: Return the missing material, the block will be lifted immediately.

Second: If you want to replace the missing item, Circulation/Reserves staff can put together a receipt that lists the correct title, author, and edition for the missing item’s replacement. Only material exactly matching what has been lost will be accepted as a replacement. Circ. Staff can also inform you of the replacement cost if the Library must order the new copy.

Third: If you want to simply pay to replace the missing item, you may do so. However, an additional fee of $50 will be charged on top of the cost of replacing the missing book. (Want to check the cost yourself? Just look at the LIST--not discounted--price you find at Amazon.com.) You will then have to go to the Student Accounts Office to pay the charges. No monies may be accepted at the Circulation/Reserves Desk.

The Circulation Department is not doing this to be mean or uncooperative. They are simply doing this to "get our stuff back." And we do mean OUR stuff. Library materials are shared resources that are meant to support the research needs of the entire Suffolk community. When you fail to return materials you’ve checked out, you are not only making extra work for staff, you are penalizing other library users who might need that material.

So.....Please return you library materials on time!