RE: damaged books

["Normandy Helmer" <nhelmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kris,

Our circ people are trained to make initial decisions about reparability,
and come ask anytime they're not sure, but it is primarily based on common
sense. Damage to the boards (usually teethmarks) is an automatic rebind
provided the spine has not been chewed into and the margin damaged. Repair
or replacement of up to ten leaves is an automatic repair. Damp materials
are assumed to be salvageable if the pages aren't sticking together.

Soaked materials and anything that seems mildewed or otherwise disgusting
are always bagged and referred to Preservation so we can make a salvage
determination. Decisions are made very promptly: immediately if before 5
p.m. M-F, next working day otherwise. Once we have informed Circ whether it
is salvageable or needs replacement, the book gets a flag showing the
decision, and goes back to Circ for evidence until the fine has been paid.
We have centralized billing so the fine charges get to the patrons very
quickly, while they still remember what happened.

Fines for repair and replacement go into a "replacement" fund line which
pays for acquisition of replacement materials and for some rebinding &
commercial preservation photocopying. We generally use a flat fee ($20
repair or $60 replacement, on top of a $20 fine and $10 service charge) but
have the option of assessing actual cost for repair and for replacement. We
found that tracking the actual cost for each repair was prohibitively
expensive and not terribly useful; I'd only do that if we had to send
something out for conservation. $20 covers rebinding or basic supplies and
staff time for an assortment of common repairs.

You might consider a "cheat sheet" with small photocopies of damaged items
in Repairable and Not Repairable categories, with fees, near the circ desk.

Normandy

Normandy Helmer
Head, Preservation & Binding Dept.
Director, Oregon Newspaper Project
UO Library System?Preservation
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
541-346-1864 ? fax 541-346-3485
nhelmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-padg@xxxxxxx [mailto:owner-padg@xxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Kristen
Kern
Sent: Friday, August 07, 1998 10:41 AM
To: padg@xxxxxxx
Subject: damaged books


I am looking for ideas on how to deal with damaged books when they
are returned to circulation (puppy chewed, damp, etc.).  At the
present time, circulation usually sends the book to the
preparations department for an assessment of the damage in order to
correctly charge the patron - either the cost of the book, if it can
be determined, or the estimated cost of repairs.  This is a
cumbersome process since it can take several days for the repair
assessment to get back to circulation.  In the meantime the patron is
waiting to hear his/her fate.  How do other libraries handle this
issue?  I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks,

Kristen
Kristen Kern
Preservation/Catalog Librarian
Portland State University Library
P O Box 1151
Portland, OR  97207
kern@.lib.pdx.edu
fax: 503-725-5799
phone: 503-725-5218