The Library's policy is to charge a processing fee for lost materials to recover the staff time it takes to replace the item. As of July 2017, this fee is set at $7.00 per item.
If an item's status changes to Lost, a series of related blocks will eventually appear on the account:
1. Lost Block - Cost of the item
When a Lost item is returned, the Lost Block is automatically resolved and the cost of the item is removed from the borrower's account.
2. Lost Processing Fee Block - $7.00
The Lost Processing Fee is not removed automatically. Staff must waive the fee manually. The borrower would then only owe the maximum overdue fine.
3. Fine Block - This block only appears on the account when the Lost item is returned. It will be set to the maximum amount allowed depending on itype/jursidiction. FCPL's maximum overdue fine as of July 2018 is $4.00 per item. Other jurisdictions' items can have a maximum overdue charge ranging from $2.50 up to the cost of the item. Local policy prevails for collecting overdue fines. Fresno staff may adjust the maximum fine to $4.00 at their discretion. If the Fine Block does not appear, waive the Lost Processing Fee down to $4.
There are several exceptions to the above:
> Kern County does not charge a Lost Processing Fee. Therefore, if a Kern County item is lost and returned, no Lost Processing Fee Block will be on the account - and so there's nothing to waive.
> The Fine Block will not appear on the account when a lost item is returned in some cases.
1) After 12 months, Lost status items will change to Missing status. If a missing item is returned, the item no longer contains the original due date, so it cannot calculate the fine (or)
2) The item was manually set to Lost status by staff and then returned prior to the due date (or)
3) The account is exempt from fines (FST - Staff, FVOL - Volunteers and FHB - Home Service). (Note: these account types will eventually be charged for the Lost item including the Lost Processing Fee, but the Fine Block will never appear on their account if the item is returned.)
*See the other Lost Processing Fee post to understand how the Lost Processing Fee is calculated.
rev. August 2017
On The Horizon is an FAQ publication for the staff of the Fresno County Public Library on the use of Horizon and ValleyCat.
