Library Fines and Fees

Library borrowers are responsible for all materials charged to their library account, for renewing them in a timely fashion, and for returning them in good condition.

Requested items are charged to your account before they are placed on the hold table at LSTC. The lending library will count them as in your possession from the time that they are checked out to you, regardless of whether you pick them up. They will accrue fines and fees on the basis of that checkout date.

Once a requested item has been placed on the hold table for you, it is your responsibility and not the responsiblity of the JKM Library. LSTC desk staff monitor the hold table, but do not work for JKM and are not responsible for the items placed on it. They are also not responsible for returned items, nor do they have access to the book return drop box.

Loans from JKM and I-Share Libraries

The member libraries of I-Share, JKM included, have stopped charging overdue fines and fees for their items loaned within I-Share.

However, each library still charges a fine for every lost or damaged item, of an amount determined by that library. For JKM, the base charge is $75 per item, and may increase according to the cost of replacing the actual item. For many other libraries, the amount is higher.

These fines represent the library's ability to not only replace that book—if it can be replaced—but also process the new copy in order to make it usable as a library book. They also represent, in many cases, a minimum of what it actually costs the library.

Even though JKM processes the requested books, I-Share loans are strictly between you and the lending library. JKM Library staff are not involved in dealing with other libraries' fines and fees in any way, though we can help you contact the library in question to resolve them.

It only takes one lost or damaged item charge to block you from borrowing from a given I-Share library through JKM. If a long enough time passes, that library may even request that JKM block you from borrowing altogether, until the fine is paid.

Lost items and the fines associated with them, both at JKM and at other I-Share libraries, will be considered an impediment to graduation from McCormick or LSTC. If you are a student, you will be required to clear your library account in order to graduate.

Long-Overdue Items

If you have kept a book long past its due date, it will be logged as lost automatically, and your account at the lending library will be charged for each such item. All you need to do is return it in good condition, whether to JKM or to another nearby I-Share library. Once it has been checked in, the amount you have been charged for it will be removed from your account.

At JKM, the length of time you can borrow a book and the number of times you can renew it depend on your status at McCormick or LSTC. You can find details on that here.

With I-Share loans, everyone is equal. Your initial loan for a book is 28 days. With renewals (including some grace for renewing late), you can have it a maximum of 112 days, or 16 weeks.

Three days before a book's due date, you should get a reminder email from the lending library. A week after it was due, you will get an overdue notice. You may still be able to renew the item.

However: 3 weeks after it was due, you will be blocked from borrowing from that library. 5 weeks after it was due, it will be treated as lost, and a fixed fine per item will be charged at the lending library.

Once again: if you in fact have the item, and it is in good condition, all you need to do is return it. Once it has been checked in at an I-Share library, the charges to your account should be cleared.

Lost or Damaged Items

If your borrowed book has indeed been lost—meaning the library has not received it, and you cannot find it—or significantly damaged, you will be required to pay the fine for it.

Materials which have mildewed, even after being slightly damp, cannot be repaired. Any amount of mold or mildew from one item will infect other items near it, and mold remediation in a library is a very expensive and difficult process. Water damage resulting in discoloration will be presumed to be mold damage. The item will be documented photographically and quarantined for destruction, and your library account will be charged for it.

Inter-Library Loans from outside of I-Share (OCLC WorldShare)

If we have obtained a book for you on loan from a library outside of the I-Share network, we will charge you a late fee of $1 per day that the item is overdue, until you return it to us.

Items borrowed for you through OCLC WorldShare cannot be returned anywhere else but to the JKM Library.

We depend on the generosity of these libraries from outside of I-Share, and our ability to get you materials through OCLC WorldShare is made possible by our good reputation in that system. That reputation is made possible by your responsible behavior with the books borrowed through that system.