Library Guides
Library Guides
Purpose: To ensure lost property is labelled, stored securely and owners are contacted. To clear lost property which has been at the Library Help desk for 1 month, ensuring that the primary place for lost items is the Students’ Association.
Confluence Page: https://jcu.atlassian.net/wiki/x/A4DfDg
Related Resources:
Lost property.xlsx (should be pinned on the LEA computer in TVL)
ALMA Roles
Circulation Desk Operator
Responsibility
Weekend Library Assistants
Related contacts
When you are handed lost property:
Phase 1: Log In the Excel Sheet
Look for any identification; name, contact no. etc...
Open the Lost property spreadsheet (R:\LIS_IRS\Library Experience\Lost property.xlsx)
Fill in all the details you can on the Lost Property found tab, including your name in the ‘Staff Member Who Logged’ column
Fill in the lost property tags with:
the date
if you have contacted the client,
if you have please write the ticket number once you have sent it
Please make sure to describe the item in great detail
Contact the client using the Sending an email to patrons regarding their lost property
At the end of the month follow the "Sending Items to JCUSA" procedure and mark in the spreadsheet if you have given them to JCUSA or Security (see lists below for what need to be given to who)
If you are handed anything in with food or drink in it please dispose of the food, and rinse out the container (if the food has already become rancid or moldy just dispose of the item and note it in the spreadsheet for the client)
Phase 2: Place item in the correct spot
Most lost property items will go in the tubs, placed behind the low cupboard behind the Library Experience Desk. You will need a key to unlock this. Place an item in the appropriately sized resealable bag. These are used for multiple reasons: organsiation, hygiene, to keep things from getting tangled, to ensure the date slip stays with the item, and to keep items handed in/found together with each other. Please keep the same sized bags clipped together.
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JCU/borrower Cards are kept in an alphabetized box in the 2nd drawer at Library Experience Desk.
Valuable items (electronics, car keys, wallets etc), go in the safe.
If you get multiple items handed in together, place them all in a resealable plastic bag. Please take items out of these bags when sending them to the JCUSA, so they can be reused for future items.
Phase 3: Sending an email to patrons regarding their lost property
Once you have located who the property belongs to
Search patron's name in ALMA using the Manage Patron Services
Open their account and locate their email address in contact information tab
Copy their email address
Follow the Creating a LibAnswer Ticket procedure
Queue: Library Experience
Question: Lost property
Question details: Note: You can leave the question details blank as this won't send the email to the client.
Make sure you fill in all the patron's details you can
Create the ticket
Open the ticket to claim it.
Make you are in the Create a reply option and use the Lost Property macro
Edit any blank details e.g. book title and patron name
Submit the ticket as Closed
Make sure to include add the ticket number to the excel sheet.
Signature - Macro "Lost Property" wording
Hi [patron name],
Just letting you know that your [type of lost property] was handed in to the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library on the Townsville JCU Campus.
You are able to collect this item from the front desk on the ground floor during opening hours. See our site for current times: https://www.jcu.edu.au/library/about/hours/mabo
Kind Regards
Library Experience Team
Library Services
Education Division
James Cook University, Australia
If you are asked if lost property has been handed in:
Open the Lost property spreadsheet
Fill in all the details you can on the Lost Property not handed to us tab
If the item has been handed in contact the client using the Sending an email to patrons regarding their lost property
At the end of the month follow the "Sending Items to JCUSA" procedure for any items that have been handed and not collected and mark in the spreadsheet if you have given them to JCUSA
Student/Staff
Ask to see their JCU ID
If they do not have it, ask to see proof of their JC/JD number or Student ID (this can be seen in the JCU App) or if they other ID (Proof of Age Card or Driver’s License) view this and search them on ALMA, then get verbal confirmation of JC/JD number or Student ID
Record this in the spreadsheet ‘Name of Student/Staff/Patron Who Checked Out' and 'Student/Staff/Membership ID or Phone Number (only if non-JCU with no Membership)’
If the item does not have any identifiable information, Inform the student/staff member that their details are in our system, and they will be contacted if we find out the item belongs to someone else.
Fill in your name in the ‘Staff Who Checked Out’ column
Put ‘yes’ in ‘Item Collected?’
Put ‘N/A’ in date sent
Put ‘no’ in Given to JCUSA
Take item out of the resealable plastic bag, give the item to the patron.
If the bag is still in good condition, place it back with the others.
Non-JCU with Membership
Ask to see their Library Card and proof of ID
Record this in the spreadsheet ‘Name of Student/Staff/Patron Who Checked Out' and 'Student/Staff/Membership ID or Phone Number (only if non-JCU with no Membership)’
If the item does not have any identifiable information, Inform the patron that their details are in our system, and they will be contacted if we find out the item belongs to someone else.
Fill in your name in the ‘Staff Who Checked Out’ column
Put ‘yes’ in ‘Item Collected?’
Put ‘N/A’ in date sent
Put ‘no’ in Given to JCUSA
Take item out of the resealable plastic bag, give the item to the patron.
If the bag is still in good condition, place it back with the others.
Non-JCU No Membership
Ask for Proof of ID and their phone number and email address
Record this in the spreadsheet ‘Name of Student/Staff/Patron Who Checked Out' and 'Student/Staff/Membership ID or Phone Number and Email Address (only if non-JCU with no Membership)’
If the item does not have any identifiable information, Inform the patron that their details are in our system, and they will be contacted if we find out the item belongs to someone else.
Fill in your name in the ‘Staff Who Checked Out’ column
Put ‘yes’ in ‘Item Collected?’
Put ‘N/A’ in date sent
Put ‘no’ in Given to JCUSA
Take item out of the resealable plastic bag, give the item to the patron.
If the bag is still in good condition, place it back with the others.
Often due to high volumes of people attending the library for study reasons (especially during the exam period), we have issues with patrons saving desks by leaving their belonging on desks and in study rooms, which is a breach of the Library Charter.
If you find a lot of belonging on desks at opening please bring them down to the desk.
If they do not collect them before the end of your shift, please follow the ‘Handed in’ procedure to contact them.
If you find personal belongings that have been left for extended periods of time, please place the "Please do not leave items on desks" note on the desk.
If before the end of your shift their belongs have not been disturbed please collect the equipment and bring it down to the front desk.
If by the next shift if they do not collect them, please follow the ‘Handed in’ procedure to contact them.
On the last Sunday of every month box up lost property to be taken over the following day
Retain any lost property that has been dated and/ or the owners contacted within the last week.
Once every 6 months, we go through the safe and empty all valuable lost property, that has been in there longer than a week.
Note: we no longer send items to security
Take out the lost property box and basket from the low cupboard behind the Library desk and the .
Select a box/s from the despatch area (you may also hear this referred to as the ‘mail room' etc), near the tea room entry that is size appropriate for the amount of Lost Property
For large numbers, check on the left hand side of the pigeon holes.
Retain any lost property that has been dated and/ or the owners contacted within the last week.
Put all items in a cardboard box or large envelope.
If you get multiple item in a resealable plastic bag, please take items out of these bags when sending them to the JCUSA, so they can be reused for future items.
Once every 6 months, we go through the safe and empty all valuable lost property, that has been in there longer than a week.
Make a note in comms for the LEA working on Monday to walk the Lost Property to Students Association JCU Building 133.
Once items are packed in the box, delete it from the lost property excel sheet. This means nothing, other than valuables kept in the safe, should be there longer than a month.
Also delete anything that was collected outside the past week This means if lost property is being sent on the 28th, an item that was collected on the 27th should stay in the excel sheet, but an item that was collected on the 2nd will be deleted.
Edit the merged and centered cell at the top of the excel sheet to say the date the Lost Property was last sent (the current date), when it needs to be sent next, and the next time we need to go through the safe. For example:
Note on desk calendar lost property and tick as completed.
Please note: if you find any JCU branded USB's that have no identifiable details on them, please keep in the desk to handout to students where needed.
ITEMS NOT TO SEND TO STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION
JCU student/staff card or library borrower card
JCU/borrower Cards are kept in an alphabetized box in the 1st drawer at Library Experience Desk.
Staff should look up the client's email in ALMA and email the owner from LibAnswers under the Library Experience queue, using the Lost Property macro
File the lost card under the owners surname.
At the beginning or end of the year, as well as Semester Break staff will go through and dispose of any cards that are inactive on the system, or are expired
Over view of how long we should retain items:
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Lost Property Box |
Safe |
Desk Draw (ID Cards) |
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1 month. When sending Lost Property to the JCUSA, keep items handed in within the last week. |
6 months. When sending Lost Property to the JCUSA, keep items handed in within the last week. |
We only discard these at the beginning/end of the year, or during the semester break. We dispose of any cards that are inactive on the system, or are expired |
The purpose of this tab is to help clarify what we deem valuable vs not valuable electronics. as this may be easily misinterpreted.
In the excel sheet, we have a couple of different categorizations for lost property items. Items that fall into the valuable category, go into the safe or, if they don’t fit, another safe location (speak to your backup or other library staff, make sure to put it in your feedback loop). Items that are electronics, but not 'valuable' go in the safe
You may need to google an item to determine if it is valuable.
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Valuables |
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These are classed as ‘valuable’ because of their physical value and monetary worth. They also important to various aspects of life (ie, students might not be able to get into their MFA without their phone, or are reliant on their laptop, this is a more self explanatory with wallets and keys). We don’t get these handed in often, and therefore they don’t take up much space in the safe. |
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Electronics (not valuable) |
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These are classed as ‘not valuable’ because of their physical value and monetary worth. Patrons are able to function without these items, ie a HDMI cord may make their life easier, but is easy to replace. Therefore, it can go into the LP Box rather than the safe. We also do not need to keep these longer than a month. |
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