Criteria for Determining Significance of Damage to Library Materials

The Music Library understands that library materials experience normal wear and tear as they are used. However, users will be billed for the rebinding or replacement of materials in cases where significant damage occurs while the item is on loan.

Examples of significant damage include:

• Torn or removed pages
• Food stains
• Water/liquid damage (including swelling, mildewed or odoriferous items)
• Pen markings (including markings made by highlighters, drawings or graffiti)
• Pervasive damage caused by use of adhesives (glue, tape) or items with adhesive properties (Post-It/Sticky notes)
• Animal bite and/or claw marks

The following damage is considered normal wear and tear:

• Damage resulting from acidification of paper (paper will be brittle and/or yellow)
• Frayed edges
• Pencil markings (extensive pencil markings can be considered severe damage)
• Missing barcodes or labels
• Slight warping of clear cover binding due to storage in excessive heat (ex. Car seats in the summer)
• Cracked media cases