Staff members of the Williams Law Library take great care in ensuring that all books properly returned through the Circulation Desk are checked in before they are re-shelved. Each book is checked in twice: once upon return, and once before it is shelved. The incidence of library material remaining on a patron’s record after it has been returned is therefore minimal.

If the library has a record of material checked out to you that you think you have returned, please follow the procedure and search tips below. Please note that you may still borrow materials while the library searches for your missing item.

  • Complete a Patron Claimed Return form either online or through a paper form available at the Circulation Desk.
  • Library staff will search for the material that has been claimed returned. We search for the material for a total of five weeks. The book will remain on your account throughout the search process and you will continue to receive overdue notices. You are able to borrow other material from the library while we continue the search.
  • You may check your patron record in the Law Library Catalog at any time to see if the item is still on your account or ask the supervisor on duty at the Circulation Desk to get specific information about the material in question.
  • Once the Library staff search is complete, you will be notified of the outcome of the search.
  • Please continue to look through your own belongings while the search is underway. Other students have occasionally found materials in such instances, and common places where such materials have been discovered include offices, homes, cars, and rooms where library material may have gotten mixed in with personal belongings (e.g., journal offices, lockers).
  • Feel free to check the shelves in the library to see if the material was re-shelved. The library will check every day for the first week, then weekly for the next four weeks, but your help can expedite the process, especially if you think that the materials may have been mixed in with others during research.

For future transactions, the library encourages you to keep the return receipt email that is automatically generated and sent to your University email address when materials are returned.

Overdue fines will be assessed as appropriate while the search is in progress. If the book is eventually declared lost then the fines are waived and the student is charged the flat fee of $134 for replacement.