The Central Lost & Found is located at the Circulation Desk on the 4th floor. Lost and Found materials are stored in a filing cabinet under the Circulation counter. Items are turned in by the library housekeeping staff, other library staff, or patrons. Types of items found include cd's, zip drives, wallets, jewelry, notebooks, glasses, keys and ids. Textbooks and other books are often put in the outside book returns by mistake.

Circulation staff attempt to contact the owner of Lost and Found items by telephone or email if the owner is identifiable. Wallets containing money or credit cards are turned over to VUPD if not claimed within 24 hours. Books belonging to other libraries are sent to the Inter-library Loan department. VU ID cards are sent to the Vanderbilt Card office if not claimed within a reasonable length of time.

Items whose owner cannot be determined, or that remain unclaimed after the owner has been contacted, are kept in the Lost and Found cabinet for a period of one semester. All unclaimed items are discarded or donated as appropriate at the beginning of the next semester. Books not claimed are donated to the library.