Overdue, Damaged, or Lost Items Fines and Fees

Item Type
Overdue Fines
Replacement Charges 
Marked as Lost
(Replacement charges are applied)
Bound Journals No fines $140  6 weeks overdue
Course Reserves No fines $140 6 days overdue
DVDs, CDs, and videos No fines $140  6 days overdue
General Collection No fines $70  6 weeks overdue
Interlibrary Loan 50 cents per day $100 6 weeks overdue
Laptops No fines

$2000

 6 days overdue
Recalled Items No fines Not applicable Not applicable
Summit $1 per day $75 6 weeks overdue
**Equipment No fines $10 to $300 6 days overdue

There is a 3 day grace period for the general collection and Interlibrary loan materials with full charges beginning on the 4th day.

Recalled items and Summit loans do not have a grace period.

Notices

For general collection materials, we send by email...

  • courtesy notices 4 days before the due date
  • notices on the due date
  • reminder notices 14 days after the due date

For hourly items, we send by email...

  • receipt that includes the due time 
  • The system is unable to send timely overdue notices for hourly items. We recommend setting an alarm when materials are due. 
  • reminder notices 2 days after the due time

Billing

Once a month, library charges are submitted to Business Affairs and posted directly to your OSU account. An invoice is sent to you at the beginning of each month if you have any charges. 

Lost or Damaged Library Materials

Items considered lost will be billed to your OSU account. The lost item charge for OSU items returned within 1 year of the billing date are automatically credited. Overdue fines and processing fees may still apply. Lost Valley Library items will not affect your borrowing privileges. Refunds for Summit and ILL are determined by the lending library. 

Non-OSU patrons' borrowing privileges will be temporarily suspended if library charges exceed $100 and they will be reinstated when those charges have been resolved.

The borrower is financially responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged library materials and/or equipment. Regardless of whether payment has been made for an item, library items remain the property of the university. Materials cannot be purchased from the library. Any person who has falsely claimed to have lost materials simply to retain possession can be charged for illegally possessing state property. If library items are damaged, especially by water, please return them immediately to Circulation so appropriate measures can be taken.

Appealing Charges

You may appeal library fines or charges online.

You may appeal library fines or charges for late, lost, or damaged materials if you believe the charges have been mistakenly assessed or that extenuating circumstances warrant reduction or cancellation. To prevent interest from accruing, appeal library fines or charges within 30 calendar days of the original billing. You will receive a response to any appeal within 1 week. Non-receipt of an overdue notice does not exempt you from fines or charges.

You may appeal the initial response to the Circulation Supervisor. The Circulation Supervisor’s decision may be appealed to the Department Head and the Department Head’s decision may be appealed to the University Librarian. You have 2 weeks to appeal each response and will receive a written response within 2 weeks.

For members of the university community, appeals to the University Librarian shall be considered as steps in the University´s Grievance Procedure and may be continued through the remaining levels. For Oregon residents, appeals to the University Librarian shall constitute the end of the available appeals process within the university.

An overdue notice is sent to the email address on your library record as a courtesy reminder. It is your responsibility to be sure that a current email address is in your official OSU record. Log into MyOregonState to view and update your email address. If you are not a student or employee, ask staff at Circulation or log into your account online to confirm that your email address is current.