lulubelle Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 We use the library like crazy and I should be greatful but, I am so, so upset! We have to pay for 2 lost books!!! I have searched my house high and low! Do you think I should make my 9 yr. old pay for them or chalk it up to first time offense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Before you pay - go check the shelf at the local brand where you returned them to see if they are there. I've had the library insist several times that we had lost the books, searched the entire house, only to find that they had been returned and just not checked in. Otherwise, I'd split it 50/50 between you and child in question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Before you pay - go check the shelf at the local brand where you returned them to see if they are there. I've had the library insist several times that we had lost the books, searched the entire house, only to find that they had been returned and just not checked in. :iagree: This has happened so many times that that is the first thing I do. Then I make sure to ask everyone in the household because I find that sometimes and older person will have moved a book without telling anyone. Then carefully check your library shelves, bins & bags. Finally check under all the seats in the car. I cna't tell you how many times I have blamed a child and it turned out not to be their fault at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I just chalk it up to supporting my library. I can have up to 300 items at a time out if I combine all our cards. I've had 177 things out at one time before, so with that many things to keep track of, something is bound to get lost. I have paid for lost books, then found them later at my house. Some books I've known I've returned and the library looks for them. If they find them, great, if not, they just drop the issue. I wouldn't charge it to the kid for a first time offense. If it becomes a habit, then I'd reconsider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Also, if you have many books, stand at each bookshelf and touch each book individually. I have found many a book by doing this, even though it takes me FOREVER. (And my kids now know to do this before they even think of starting a sentence, "Mom, I can't find...." :lol:) Also look on school shelves in notebooks and folders...sometimes a book will get sandwiched in a folder or notebook. I'd let it go for a first time offense, and let the kiddo know it's a one-time freebie. Ours have turned up in weird spots: Between the mattresses, in the art supply cabinet sandwiched between papers (likely gathered up in a quick tidy), in the towel cupboard :confused:. IME, the best way to find a missing library book is to pay for it. :tongue_smilie: Ask the library if they have a grace period. Ours will issue a partial refund if it's found within 30 days. Ours will also renew the book for 3 additional weeks, with no fines, if I talk to the librarian. Hope you find it! Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My last book I paid for turned up at my Dh's elementary school. :confused::confused: Still haven't figured that one out but I was able to return it and pay the late fine and $5 non refundable fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have lost books, paid for them, then found them. The library refunds the money. I've also found a lost book on the library shelves. I wouldn't charge your son for a first offense, unless he broke a rule that caused it to be lost. (example: I don't allow library books upstairs.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtney.byrum Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Definitely check the library if you think you've returned it. We frequently will go find the book on the shelf and then bring it to the desk and they take care of it at that point. If you know you didn't return AND can't find it then I'd pay the fine this time but let them know next time they will be paying it not you. Thankfully my kids haven't lost a book yet - but I have had to 'claims returned' on 2 books that I know we returned yet were still on our card and not to be found on the shelf. That could be something as simple as it got put somewhere else and would turn up eventually when someone finds it in the wrong spot on the shelf. We have a large bin where all library books go (the library bag stays with the bin and read books get put right into the bag). They each also have a small bin on their beds to keep the current and next reads in. We've used this system for 2 years and have so far not lost anything so it seems good. We even check out from 2 different library systems, I just double check each book to make sure it gets put in the right bag (and then I still double check as we return them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I pay a "finder's fee" to the child who finds it. And the fee increases as the days pass. Also check every square inch of your vehicles. And every single person in the family. Knowing the color and thickness of the book helps everyone to search effectively. I make it like a Treasure Hunt! Happy Hunting! And yes, you will likely find it as soon as you pay the fee. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Also, if it's a paperback book (the thin versions), check inside bigger books. We've had various mishaps over the years - usually the book is "lost" by the library rather than us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I've never lost one, but the library has told me I have a number of times. I insist; they check the shelf, and there it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomandlorih Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Before you pay - go check the shelf at the local brand where you returned them to see if they are there. I've had the library insist several times that we had lost the books, searched the entire house, only to find that they had been returned and just not checked in. Otherwise, I'd split it 50/50 between you and child in question. :iagree: This has happened to us a lot as well!! Also, our library will let us bring in a replacement book instead of paying for it. It may be cheaper for you on Amazon or ??... I think(I've never done it) that our library will even let you replace it with a "similar" book... so on the same subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My mom found some magazines that were due that day (and couldn't be renewed) stuck in the middle of some books in a bookshelf. Check under the beds, too! And do double check the library. I had one I was almost certain I'd returned but not enough to report it missing to the library. I renewed that thing for more than 6 months. One day...it was gone from my record. Which means someone else tried to check it out, and it got checked back in. I was so relieved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I see you have a 5yo - Check inside bags and suitcases. That is where all my missing books usually turn up. My kids love to pack books in their bags and suitcases and roll them around the house. They like to play "going on holiday" and pack their suitcases -I guess it's nice to see that when they go away they plan to take books :lol: I've always found our missing books so far but we have a big problem with ripped books due to the 2yo. I've had to pay for many of them. Our library allows us to buy a book ourselves to replace it and it is always cheaper. The last book I replaced I could not find anywhere so I paid the library price only to find it in the store 2 days later and it was half the price I paid at the library :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Do check the library first!!! They did this to me and the book was in their back office. Hours wasted of my time. ARGH! I hope you find it!!! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Agree with the others - shelf check the library. Many a book "lost" in our house has been found there too. Then I do a major spring cleaning of the house. None have been permanently lost here. Spring cleaning turned them all up - varying from boxes headed to the attic (accidentally fell in the lid), behind book shelves, under beds, inside the sofa ... on and on. Don't forget the car/van. We found one wedged under the rear most seat in the van. If I beg for leniency to search for it, they typically renew it for me one more time while I hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Before you pay - go check the shelf at the local brand where you returned them to see if they are there. I've had the library insist several times that we had lost the books, searched the entire house, only to find that they had been returned and just not checked in. Otherwise, I'd split it 50/50 between you and child in question. :iagree: A year or so ago I had a pile of books I returned (like 20 of them) and then received a notice they were late! I knew I returned them - but the library said they were not returned. Turned out they were not checked into the computer system before being returned to the shelves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Definitely check the library. The only time I've lost books, I found out that "friends" had taken them home with them when they visited. They returned one book but I had to pay for the other 2. I never heard from her again. And we had been friends for 4 years! Ruined my stellar library record, they did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I usually find ours stuck between the one of the beds and the wall. Or behind the couch. Or under a bookcase. Or in the bathroom garbage, from dd dropping it while "reading" on the pot. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 ugh, good luck! My son went through and wrote his name in the "This Book Belongs to" pages of several library books recently and we had to pay for the ones that couldn't be erased. On the upside, I also "returned" our Usborne Book of World History to the library, and a book on Egypt that we owned, and the librarian figured out we were the owners and called us to pick them up :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Keep your receipt too in case you find the said books. I just found the long lost dvd that I paid $26 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.