Copy of Preservation Guidelines for Circulating Branch Libraries

Vandalism of a library item can be both purposeful as well as unintentional.  It is any defacement, mutilation, or destruction of collection items.  Any loss of intellectual property owned by the libraries is considered vandalism.  Examples of vandalism include:

• Using pen, markers, and/or highlighter on our collection items
• Spilling food and/or drink on collection items
• Damage caused by pets
• Purposeful editing of collection materials using markers/pen/etc.
• Purposeful removal of parts of a collection item
• Purposeful erasure of parts of a collection item
• Slicing books with sharp objects (in the attempt to remove parts of the book or other reasons)
• Hiding the book somewhere else in the library that is not its typical location so no other researcher can utilize it
• Arson and/or complete damage by other means

Any acts of unintentional vandalism need to be immediately responded to by library employees.  If an employee sees a patron using a pen and/or highlighter, or vandalizing a library item in any way, they need to approach and educate the patron on their inappropriate behavior.  This may include the patron paying a fine for the damage done to the collection item.

If the patron refuses to comply with the handling policy, UPD can be contacted and the researcher removed from the library.

Follow your library branch guidelines for handling book vandalism during the check-out period.

Purposeful, intentional vandalism of collection items need to be reported to UPD immediately.  After the situation has been addressed by UPD, then the employees witnessing and dealing with the vandalism can contact their supervisors, other staff, conservation, etc. for assistance.  Again, employee safety is more important than collection item safety and acts of vandalism within the libraries need to be handled with care.

The consequence of purposeful vandalism can include fines and even being trespassed from the libraries.  Follow UPD and your libraries' guidelines on how to approach book damage and disruptive behavior.