Every year US libraries lose books due to unreturned or lost books, causing bigger issues than just in the libraries, but new systems are being introduced as solutions. While there are no exact statistics related to the amount of book loss in libraries, School Library Journal reported the return of two books to a high school library after fifty-one years, portraying the comical example but problematic issue displayed of overdue materials for school libraries. Many have been lost or forgotten, for various reasons. Libraries typically consider the human aspect of it, such as if children have multiple homes they go to, creating potential situations where books are lost. According to the American Library Association, 7 percent pre-automation and .4 for post-automation to suggest a national loss of 6.28 million items, or $125.6 million at a rate of $20 per book. This suggests a high national loss of books, interfering with the library system as well as being wasteful.

The school library has many systems in place in order to retrieve lost books. Some of these systems include sending out an email to students when a book is overdue. Librarian Nicole Ball said, “But after it’s 30 days overdue when the computer thinks it’s lost, at that point, the student and the student's guardian gets an email...We found that the lost books by the end of the year are a lot fewer now that parents also get communication.” This has been helpful to keep the library system organized. She also mentioned that unpaid fees are put in powerschool at the end of the year, so parents may pay online, creating an easier way to pay fines. The library is also flexible, and uses some discretion when needed in certain circumstances.

In the 2024-2025 school year, there were about 60 lost/unreturned books, estimating $1056.05 in lost books, and about $750 after late fees were paid. While the systems of the library have been helpful, it is still a significant amount lost every year. It is also considered wasteful in a way, since books require more trees to be cut down to make. According to Green Matters, an environmental platform, the US publishing industry emits over 40 million tons of carbon dioxide and cuts down 32 million trees a year to turn into books. The more money spent on books that were lost, the more wasting occurs. But, with suitable systems instilled in the school as well as the US, this number can continue to decrease.