What should you do if you damage a library book? Nothing, almost! Your options of what to do with a damaged library book really depend on what kind of damage it is. Most minor damage can be dealt with easily and painlessly with no cost to you, the patron. We are most forgiving when it comes to little things that we can repair.

If you spill something on your book, wipe it as dry with a cloth or paper towel as you can and if the pages are also wet, open the book to let them dry as much as possible. Wet pages will get moldy and if the book gets moldy or if it is extremely wet, know that you will probably have to pay to replace it. 

Next scenario: you’re turning the pages, you get distracted and you rip a page, or your kids rip pages in their books in their eagerness to see what happens next. You’d think that taping the pages would be the correct thing to do when the answer is really please don’t. We won’t charge you to repair a few torn pages and we prefer to fix it because we have special tape made for book repairs that won’t damage the pages like tape can. It’s amazing to know that trying to fix something can actually damage it more than if  you had just brought it in and let us know.

Maybe you take a book on vacation and lost it. No need to panic! Just give us a call, explain what happened and we will give you some different options on how to deal with replacing it. And while it’s very convenient to borrow books and electronic devices for your vacation, please leave them in your car or hotel room to prevent avoidable accidents.

Books can also lose pages or fall apart through no fault of the patron checking them out. Sometimes it’s just a well-loved book, sometimes the publisher doesn’t do a great job in manufacturing the book and occasionally as books age, they can fall apart, just like we do. Believe it or not, we can tell whether or not a book has issues of its own or if caused by outside forces. We will not charge you when we know it’s not your fault, but we do ask that if pages fall out, please keep them in the book and inform us when you return it.

Finally, your teething baby or new puppy has used your library book as a teething ring. Sorry to say this, but you will most likely be charged to replace it. Just like with a lost book, give us a call and we will give you your options on how to pay for or replace it.

Be sure to let us know that something is wrong with an item when you return it. We work very hard to make sure our books and other materials last for as long as possible so more patrons can enjoy them. We appreciate it when someone lets us know that pages are loose or torn so that we can fix them. Life happens and we want everyone to know that it isn’t the end of the world when books get in the way. Just give us a call or bring your borrowed item back and we are more than happy to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.