theregalrenegade Posted July 30, 2011 Posted July 30, 2011 I checked my university library account online this morning and it has a book listed as overdue that I returned last Wednesday. I wouldn't be so upset, but it's a Link+ book, meaning $1 a day fees. It's up to $5. I just got off the phone with the library and they say they don't have it. I used the book drop I always use and I specifically remember said book. I'll have to pay $150 if they don't find the book.They said I can talk to the person in charge of Link+ tomorrow, but what could she possibly say different? This is really bringing me down. What can I do? I'm a grad student, I don't have that kind of money! Has this ever happened to anyone? Is there any hope of not having to shell out money for a book I know I returned?
Strangefox Posted July 30, 2011 Posted July 30, 2011 I am so sorry to hear it has happened to you! If you are completely sure you have returned the book, keep insisting - they must find it or a trace of it - perhaps another person has alrady took it but somebody has messed up the record. If you have returned the book - you don't have to pay! Good luck and keep us posted about the situation!
Sparky Posted July 30, 2011 Posted July 30, 2011 Is Link+ an interlibrary loan/consortium exchange? My normal strategy (and this has happened to me, several times) is to go to the physical shelf in the library where the book should be. 99% of the time, it's there, and it's just that the person behind the desk didn't scan it back in properly. If the book came to you from another library, especially one not easily accessible, I would probably e-mail the librarians at *that* library. Give them the call #, your name, school, etc, and ask if they'll look and see if the book was reshelved at their library without ever being marked in as returned. This has saved me at least $35 in accumulated fines (as well as the lost-book fee). So yes, there's hope. Good luck; I hope it works out! Phyl 1
theregalrenegade Posted July 30, 2011 Author Posted July 30, 2011 @strangefox - Yes, I will keep on insisting. I remember as clear as day exactly when and how the book return went down! @sparky - Link+ is an interlibrary exchange. GREAT advice about checking the shelf. I'm going to do that! And I just verified that the book came from the San Francisco Public Library, so I'm going to be contacting them shortly, too! Thanks for the suggestions! I'll let you know what happens.
Sigaba Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Has this ever happened to anyone? Is there any hope of not having to shell out money for a book I know I returned? Yes. One day, I returned 125+ books to the school libraries. A bit later, I got an over due notice for two books. After some frantic triple checking, I affirmed my initial conclusion that I'd returned these two books. So I went to the library and insisted that I had returned the books and that they'd made an error. The librarian proceeded to list the two books as "missing." Edited August 5, 2011 by Sigaba
ZeeMore21 Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Usually if you just keep on insisting that you did return the book, the library should just mark it as missing and you won't be charged. Good luck!
theregalrenegade Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 I have news on this! I talked to the Link+ coordinator about the whole issue and she was helpful and refreshingly cordial. I asked how we should proceed and she said she'd contact the San Fran Library the following day to see if it had been sent back before being checked in. She emailed me on Monday saying my account showed the book as returned, so my library must have found it. But she also wiped out ALL the fees for the book (even though I had returned it two days late and expected to pay those fees) AND fees on another Link+ book that I returned at the same time that had legitimate fees. I'm so glad I called her and that I now have her email address in case anything similar to this happens again. Though I plan to return my Link+ directly to the library and not to the drop boxes ever again! I'm so relieved. @Sigaba - It's a relief to know that the library will take a student's word on it. Or maybe they are more likely to take a grad student or faculty's word? @Zeemore - If the Link+ coordinator had said they still didn't have it in their system, I would have continued to insist. I definitely would have contacted the San Fran library myself as one of the above posters mentioned and made sure to file a formal complaint with my library.
Sigaba Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 @Sigaba - It's a relief to know that the library will take a student's word on it. Or maybe they are more likely to take a grad student or faculty's word? TRG-- I think my situation was helped by the fact that I spent a lot of time in that particular library--while not known by name, I was probably recognized by sight--and that I provided good details of the mass book drop (date and time).
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