Replacement Fees for youth materials

[Jennifer Hoffman]

Hello all,

While DPL eliminated overdue fines long ago, I understand that some of our metro area partners are ahead of us in eliminating replacement fees for lost/damaged youth materials.

Full elimination is a concern for us, as our billing process does result in significant return of "lost" youth items. Replacement Fees billed for lost items are autowaived in our system upon return by the customer.

For those who have eliminated replacement fees for youth items, how has that impacted returns of youth materials after going lost (autowaives)?  Do you have a billing process for lost (ie. long unreturned) youth materials?  Any insights you can share are much appreciated.  

Thank you. 

Jennifer Hoffman (she/her)  Circulating Services Manager  10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway, 80204 720.865.2034 jhof...@denverlibrary.org denverlibrary.org

[Angel Groves]

Hello Jennifer,

I'm happy to provide what we do here at MINES but considering we are an academic library, and the populations might not overlap in the same ways is a huge consideration!

I developed a tiered list of grace periods and consequences. Basically, if someone doesn't return their item in 5 days after their original due date, they will have a replacement fee that can be waived if the item is returned without damage and in functional condition. If it is damaged, we evaluate what may need to be replaced up to the full replacement cost (which was determined at the time of purchasing the device- NOT its current pricing). If the item is still not returned within 40 days, they are banned from checking out any other gadgets for a set amount of time (the following semester) and if not within 50 days they are no longer able to borrow items from our Gadgets to Go Collection during the rest of their time at MINES. It's important to note that in the policy I wrote, after the 40 days the fine is no longer waivable, nor does their account become unblocked until after the following semester for the 40-day period (according to the policy but that determination can be made on a case-by-case basis). 

Although it's a lot, I've found a ton of success in getting our items back in a more reasonable amount of time or having folks be accountable for not returning the items although there are much more pressing things at stake for our students. It's worth noting that this also applies to faculty and staff, and I even get their supervisors/ department heads involved if needed in order to get our devices/materials back. All to say I share in your hesitation to completely eliminate it and I actually added it here because of the issues we were having with some pretty high-ticket, highly sought after items!

If you'd like to take a look here's our Gadgets to Go Overdue and Damaged Fee Policy and our Fee List

I hope this helps in some way! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

P.S. We are waiting for a website upgrade and such before changing the title to just reflect one "Gadgets to Go" in the title 🙂

-Angel Groves

Angel Groves  (he/him/his) Why pronouns matter
Manager, Circulation and User Services 
Arthur Lakes Library

Colorado School of Mines
1400 Illinois St, Golden, CO, 80401
| angel.groves@mines.edu 

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From: 'Jennifer Hoffman' via CLCN Colorado Circulation Supervisors Network <cl...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2026 1:02 PM
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Subject: [EXTERNAL] Replacement Fees for youth materials

 

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[Linda Wisneski]

Hi Jennifer,

Our youth materials would be checked out on a parent's card or on their school ID. If on a parent's card and it goes to long lost overdue, the parent is charged. If they actually lose the book, the parent is charged. If they damage the book, we evaluate on a case-by-case basis. Many easy books that get damaged, we don't charge for. Even the first readers. If a dog chews it or it's left in a rainstorm, they get charged. 

If it's on the school account, we have a two-way agreement with the school that they will pay us for any lost items by their patrons in October for the prior year and we will pay them for any lost items by our patrons.

Hope that helps and makes sense!

Linda

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Linda Wisneski

Patron Experience Supervisor

970-586-8116 x816 
PO Box 1687 / 335 E. Elkhorn Avenue
Estes Park, CO 80517

[Jennifer Hoffman]

Thanks, Angel. It's great to hear from you and learn about the Gadgets to Go Collection at Mines!

Jennifer Hoffman (she/her)  Circulating Services Manager  10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway, 80204 720.865.2034 jhof...@denverlibrary.org denverlibrary.org

On Wed, Jun 24, 2026 at 10:47 AM Angel Groves <angel....@mines.edu> wrote:

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[Angel Groves]

Angel Groves reacted to your message:

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From: 'Jennifer Hoffman' via CLCN Colorado Circulation Supervisors Network <cl...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Wednesday, 24 June 2026 20:35:14
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Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Replacement Fees for youth materials

 

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