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Ipswich Library User Guide: Charges, Fines & Lost Books

Charges, Fines and Lost books

As a service we want to support you in your studies and ensure you have the best possible access to our resources.

We make library charges for the late return and loss of library materials to try and ensure maximum availability of these resources for all students, staff and library users.

How much?

How Much?

Library fines are added to your account if you return or renew an item after its due date. We do this to try and ensure that a person who borrows an item from the library does not keep it indefinitely, and prevent another person from borrowing it. These charges are added to accounts as part of our overdue policy.

The rate of the fine per day (excluding weekends) depends on the format (i.e. book or DVD) and the original loan period. The quick loans and short loans have higher rates as these are the books which are considered essential reading on courses, and therefore have the highest demand.

 

Standard Loan  10p per day
Short Loan 50p per day
DVDs 50p per day
Locker keys 50p per day

Maximum Charge = £5.00

This is the maximum you will be charged for one overdue item

 

Notifications

Notifications

We send you a number of notifications to let you know when your books are due back and when they go overdue; 

  • The day before your due date; a courtesy email to remind you that you need to renew or return your books.
  • The day after your due date; a reminder email to let you know that your books are now overdue and you will now start to receive daily fines until books are returned or renewed. 
  • At 1 week overdue;  a reminder email to let you know that your books are now overdue and you are receiving daily fines until books are returned or renewed.
  • At 2 weeks overdue;  a reminder email to let you know that your books are now overdue and you are receiving daily fines until books are returned or renewed.
  • At 4 weeks overdue; a courtesy email to let you know that your library account is now blocked, access to reservations and interlibrary loan services have been revoked. We urge you to return or replace items as a matter of urgency. If items have not been returned or replaced by 8 weeks, the full replacement costs of the item will be added to your account. 
  • At 8 weeks overdue; a letter to the address supplied on your student record notifying you that the items are now considered lost and therefore the replacement costs for the items have been added to your library account. If books are returned after this point, it will not be possible to remove fines from your account as items may have been replaced.  

Please remember : If you have a genuine reason for not returning an item, get in touch with us! The sooner you get in touch with us the easier it will be to try and come to a resolution. 

 

Lost Books

Lost Books

If you believe you have returned an item, please let us know at the library help desk, by dropping us an email, giving us a call or popping into see us as soon as you can.

If you believe you have returned an item, please let us know at the library help desk, by dropping us an email, giving us a call or popping into see us as soon as you can. We will then;

  • Check the shelves for the item for you and try to resolve the matter immediately.
  • Advise you to have a really good look at home, in your car, at your partners/parents/grandparents/friends houses or anywhere you may have had the book.  

If we are unable to locate it, the next stage will be to follow our claims returned process. We will; 

  • Send an email to your student account explaining the process.
  • Look for the item for the next 2 days, performing 3 searches per day by differing staff members. 

If we are unable to locate the item, the final stage will be to add the replacement costs to your library account. 

Please be aware that until this amount is paid, a payment plan is arranged, or a replacement copy received, your library account will  be blocked. This means you will be unable to take out any books, reserve any items or request interlibrary loans until this matter is resolved. 

If you have lost an item, please let us know at the library help desk, by dropping us an email, giving us a call or popping into see us as soon as you can. We will then;

  • Check the shelves for the item for you, in case you have returned the book and were not aware.
  • Advise you to have a really good look at home, in your car, at your partners/parents/grandparents/friends houses or anywhere you may have had the book.  

If we are unable to locate it, the next stage will be to ask you what you would like us to do next.

If you wanted us to check the library thoroughly we would advise you that we will follow our claims returned process. See 'I have already returned an item' .

If you believe the book to be totally lost, you will need to replace the item for us. You can do this by; 

  • Purchasing a very good or new copy of the item online or from a second hand book shop. 
  • The replacement costs of the book can be added onto your library account. 

Please be aware that until this amount is paid, a payment plan is arranged, or a replacement copy received, your library account will  be blocked. This means you will be unable to take out any books, reserve any items or request interlibrary loans until this matter is resolved. 

Paying Fines

Payments can be made;

  • In person at one of the self-service kiosks in the library 
  • Or online through the University of Suffolk Online Shop.

Make an online payment

If you cannot pay your fines – or have a genuine reason for not returning the item please come and talk to us!

If you find that you do have a large fine on your account, and have problems paying it, come and talk to us. We can arrange a payment plan where you will be able to continue borrowing, or we can discuss extenuating circumstances.