Frugal Tip for Replacing Lost Library Books
Hi! I'm Mrs. Micah and I blog about all things personal finance at Finance for a Freelance Life. I also run a small blog consulting business and blog on blogging at BlogCrafted.
Maybe it's because I've worked in libraries since I was 16, or maybe it's because I've lost a few myself, but I'm convinced that every serious library patron will lose at least one book. Or CD, or DVD.
The minimum charge I've seen for a lost item is $3.99 (kids paperback) and the maximum was something like $40. In all the counties/libraries where I've worked, the price has been based on the replacement cost of the item. At face value, then, it would seem that paying the fee would be the best thing to do.
But actually, libraries are limited in how we can replace books. Most of the time, we're required to buy from the specific vendor(s) with whom the county or independent library has a contract. We can't just go on Amazon and find the best replacement copy. But you can.
On the few occasions that I've lost an item, I've never had to pay for it. Instead, I've provided the library with a replacement copy. In one case, I replaced a $25.00 book for $12.00. In another, I replaced a $15.00 CD for $7.00.
There are two critical elements in properly replacing an item. First, ask before you buy. Check with the circulation supervisor to see if they take exchanges. It's important to know whether it'll be accepted and if the person you bring the book back to doesn't want to take it, you can quote the supervisor. Then it should be the library's problem and not yours.
Second, buy a quality item. It doesn't matter if the book you lost had water damage or was old and used. Buying quality increases your chances of getting the item accepted. It doesn't have to be new, but something that's only gently used or "like new" should do the trick. No writing.
Of course, when the fee is less than it would cost you to replace the item, you're best off just paying it. When you do, check with your library to see if there is any way you can keep the receipt and bring the book back if you find it. A common return policy is receipt & book within 1 year and you're refunded everything but the maximum late fine for that item.
A special note for CDs and DVDs: if you have the case, consider simply putting a new disc in. As long as it's the same movie and the library hasn't done anything special to the disc, they won't care. They would probably be grateful to avoid the hassle---I know I am! Most libraries don't do much to CDs and DVDs anymore because special sensors & plastic covers have been known to melt in DVD players.
Again, always check with the circulation supervisor before buying anything. Your library's policies may vary or they may have some specifics that will make an item a qualified replacement.
Patronizing libraries is an incredibly frugal way to get all your reading in. Your tax dollars are paying for it already, so you might as well put it to good use. And if you ever do misplace an item, offer to replace it and save yourself and the library some money & trouble!
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11 Responses to “Frugal Tip for Replacing Lost Library Books”
October 19th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Good idea! And if you use bookswap.com then it is easy to find a good copy of most popular books.
October 19th, 2008 at 7:50 am
[...] Sunday’s Frugal Hacks post is a frugal tip for replacing lost library books. I’m convinced that every serious library patron has lost or will lose at least one item in [...]
October 19th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I didn’t realize that you could buy a replacement! I’ve only lost one book…but I doubt it will probably be the end!
October 19th, 2008 at 11:50 am
We 3 little kids we’ve been finding that this happens too often. One complicating factor in our library system is that they require you to buy the same edition as the one you lost – in other words, it can’t be the 2006 edition with this cover, it has to be the 1998 edition with that cover. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but there it is. Fortunately, with the internet it’s fairly easy to find multiple editions of books, and a lot of times the older editions are cheaper!
October 19th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Thanks for the tip. I’ve always wondered why the fee for a lost library book was so high- its been a long time since I paid the cover price for any book (unless it was bought with a gift card).
October 20th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Great topic and great tips! I haven’t lost a library item yet, but sure we will having two little boys who love their books, CDs, and movies from the library. We are trying to go once a week when it works out with our schedule.
October 20th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Thanks!
Strangely enough, I had a gentleman come in with over a dozen CD cases tonight. He had put the discs in one of those CD carriers and left it on a bus. He asked me what he could do about it. So I gave him the same advice I gave here (replace discs and return in cases), I even showed him how to find which branch the CDs belong to and how we mark them. Hopefully that’ll save him over half the bill. Very fortunate on his part that he still had the cases.
October 21st, 2008 at 11:46 am
Our library won’t let us replace anything! It is a charge of $30 per item to replace a books.
October 21st, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Oh, thanks so much for this tip! I am currently fighting a $25 charge for a book that is water damaged…tho’ not by us…grrr! However, I found it at chapters.ca for $13.65 … YAY! I will surely ask if I can replace the book myself if I don’t win this disagreement with the library.
October 25th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I just recently posted about my frustration with the Library…It seems our library tends to shelve books and not scan them in properly. So, my suggestion is to always check the shelf for the book! Then, if you can’t find it these are some great suggestions! I just paid for a book at the school library and then it showed up a few weeks later on the shelf. I’m awaiting my refund. Also, at the public library I found my books on the shelf just last week.
October 26th, 2008 at 8:26 am
@Elizabeth, that is an excellent point. In the library’s defense, some of the newest systems make it very easy to scan only half a barcode and have everything act as if it’s checked in. So they scan, it beeps, the thing on the screen moves…but then if you’re watching closely, you see that the title didn’t actually show up.
We run our own shelf checks and encourage patrons to do them too, just in case. I was writing with the assumption that you knew the books were lost; if you think you’ve returned them there’s a whole different process to go through.
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