Overdue items and penalties

Overdue items

Borrowed items become overdue if they are not returned by closing time on the due date. You will be sent overdue notices by e-mail.

You are responsible for the replacement cost, plus a processing fee, for any item deemed overdue, lost or damaged. You are invoiced for an item once it is six weeks overdue. If you think you have lost an item, or one has been damaged, please advise staff at the Information Desk as soon as possible.

Penalties

There is a two-day grace period for all items except those in Reserve collections. If items are not returned or renewed within or before the grace period, your borrowing entitlements are suspended at all campus libraries.

While we do not issue fines for overdue items, a demerit point system does exist. Items not returned within the grace period accrue demerit points from the date they become overdue:

  • Most collections (eg. Main, Quarto, Textbook, TRC, Multimedia, Realia) - 1 point per day per item
  • Reserve collection - 1 point per hour, or part thereof, per item.

The Library imposes a further period of suspension of borrowing entitlements according to the number of demerit points accrued, as follows:

UB students, Alumni, CAVAL, ULA, Infolink borrowers
 UB staff
  • 40-79 points - 14 day (2 weeks) suspension
  • 80 or more points - 28 day (4 weeks) suspension
 UB staff do not accumulate demerit points. Instead, their borrowing entitlements are suspended.

 

Please note: According to Clause 7.4 of the Library rules, the borrower is responsible for the replacement cost, plus processing fee, of any unreturned item. If you believe the item has been returned or was stolen, it will be necessary to obtain a statutory declaration in order to be considered for exemption; however, the Library will accept a statutory declaration only as a last resort.