I know I returned an item, but it is still on my account. What do I do?
If you returned the item late in the previous day or in the book drop, give us a few hours after opening time to process the returns. If it is still on your account later in the next day, give us a call or send an (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), explaining the situation. Our staff processes more than 1,000,000 returns per year and occasionally misses an item. It is our policy to accept your word that up to two items were returned but failed to get checked in properly. We give the item in question a status of "Claims Returned". This allows us to generate a report of such items and search our shelves for them. If the item is found, you will not be charged overdue fines. In any case, you will not be billed for your first two "Claims Returned" items.
After you have had two "Claims Returned" items, we advise that you not return items in our book drops, but bring them into the library and return them directly to a staff member instead. You may want to ask for a receipt so that there is no question that all of your items were checked in properly.
If you have more than two "Claims Returned" items, you will be billed for the third item and any subsequent "claims returned" items.
Please be aware that we can only mark Brookline-owned items (those whose barcodes start with 31712) "Claims Returned." It is Minuteman Library Network (MLN) policy that patrons must ask the owning library for a claims returned, even though you borrowed the item from Brookline. Please see MLN's "About Member Libraries" page for contact information for other MLN libraries.
Please do not leave returned items on top of a bookdrop, sticking out of a bookdrop, or on the ground if the bookdrop is overflowing. It is better that you keep the item and return it late than leave it where someone could easily steal it. When returning items inside the library, we recommend that you do not just leave items on top of a busy circulation desk, but stick them into the slots provided, if you do not have time to wait for a staff member to process the checkin in front of you.