Lost+and+Replacement+Book+Fees

=//How should we (as a department) handle lost and replacement books?//= I keep track o fall lost and paid for books on a database Gina has in the office. I believe that lost book money should be kept for future library use and if it can't be carried over to the next year it should be available for us to spend at the end of the year.That should also be a cut off for when we will refund for a found book. I have ordered books from Follect and paid for them out of the activity fund. This can be a problem though if it is at the end of the year and the fund is low. A book can be replaced with the same title or another on the same subject || We usually charge the cost of replacement. But we are pretty lax. For example if it is an old well-used copy, we will charge whatever. Replacement parts are tricky as we cannot always get them and wind up discarding the item. But we try to charge something for effect. It’s not consistent and pretty subjective though.
 * **name** || **comments, suggestions, opinions** ||
 * JEAN ||  ||
 * GAIL || I charge the cost of the book . All my books are in good condition and i remove books when i see that they are not and put them on a replacement list. If a family is having financial problems i will waive the first lost book.
 * LISA || ==== This is the response from Pat Pierce at LRWL : ====

====** At E. Green...R ight now I am able to use the replacement money. I hold onto it and buy things I am desperate for. To be honest, I have purchased other necesseties besides books at times (i.e. blank DVD's, and other misc. supplies.) I would prefer in the future to use it for replacement books as intended! At this time, as per Wendy's decisions on the amounts when she was still principal, I do not charge enough to replace a book. I currently charge $3 for magazine, $5 for paperback and $10 for hardcovers.**====

**Here is what I think we should do...**
====**Charge a replacement fee using a consistent company such as Follett if the book is in print.** **If it is out of print, we need to decide on a fair figure, but I do think we should charge different amounts for paperbacks and hardcovers. The money SHOULD NOT, in my opinion, be thrown into that general fund. That just does not seem fair. When parents pay with a check, right or wrong, my school secretary cashes it with the field trip money. I feel strongly that we decide bfore the end of this school year so that a policy in place from the first day of school next year. Unless there is a board policy, I think we just need to decide on a figure.**==== || Up to last year, I kept my own lost book money and was able to buy replacement copies with the money. It was also available to reimburse the student in case a book was found after it had been paid for (this happens more often than you would think...sometimes the next day!) {And this offer only exists for the same school year.} But last year, this was changed [or maybe the policy caught up with me] and my funds were absorbed into the general school fund. So I was not able to replace every lost book due to budget constraints. I, too, would like to use the money for its intended purpose, but I am guessing this might be a district policy. Does anyone know how lost textbook money is handled? ||
 * BETSY || I charge the replacement cost for the book which I usually find through Follett. I round the price up to the nearest dollar. If a book is out of print, I look for a similar title and charge accordingly. Once in a while I let a student bring in their own replacement book, but this is an exception.
 * NICOLE || Currently, I give students two options: (1) Replace the book by purchasing a new or gently used copy of the same title, or (2) Pay a replacement fee. Many of the older books in my collection do not have prices included with the record, so I tend to charge a standard replacement fee ($5.00 for paperbacks, $10.00 for hardcover fiction, $20.00 for nonfiction).

IN ADDITION, There is a related issue I would like to discuss: I would like to know the policies in your schools regarding the money collected for lost books. Do you get to use it to purchase your own replacements? Currently, I am expected to turn in all of the money I collect to the main office, where it is "absorbed" into the general school fund. I am therefore unable to use it for replacements, and (in effect) all lost books remain permanently "lost" to my collection, unless I want to use my budget money the following year to replace the books lost the year before. (Needless to say, my budget the following year does not reflect this need!) Do any of you have a similar situation? If so, can you tell me why this is? It does not seem fair to me, yet when I have asked in the past for an explanation or a change to this system, I was given the terse reply, "That's the way it is." || (2) Replace the book by purchasing a new or gently used copy of the same title (in the same format . . . paperback or hardcover). Some of you are definitely not charging enough for books. A hardcover picture book can cost upwards of $20-$25. While there is no set policy regarding the money collected for lost books, my principal has no problem with me collecting the money and using it for replacement books. Parents rarely request a refund for a book that was lost and then found. It hasn't often happened that a book is found after being lost for a time and maybe most parents looks at it as an opportunity to donate a book to the Library. I keep track of the lost/damaged books, students and money collected each year. ||
 * PAMELA ||  ||
 * MAUREEN ||  ||
 * KATE || Just like Nicole, I give my students two options: (1) Pay a replacement fee (from Follett), or