Trans-Amigos Express Guidelines - Reporting Lost Items, Service Disruptions and Holidays

Reporting damaged items
Damaged items should be reported immediately using the “Report Lost/Damaged Items” form in the TAE Participant page. Amigos Library Services provides reimbursement for items damaged in transit between TAE/TExpress participants. See details below for items shipped to Kansas or Missouri. No insurance is available for packages sent through the Trans-Amigos Express service, therefore expensive or irreplaceable items should NOT be sent through the courier service.

Lost item reporting
Please report lost items using the “Report Lost/Damaged Items” form in the Participant page. Report missing items two weeks from the original shipment date, or as soon as the delay is evident. Either the borrowing or lending library can report items as lost.

Logging codes on shipped packages
All TAE participants should keep a log of the QR codes on all shipped packages. The Trans-Amigos Express Label Maker does keep a historical record of labels, that system is supplementary to the records maintained by each library.

Reimbursement for lost items
Lost items sent between TAE/TExpress participants are eligible for reimbursement once they:
  • Have been reported as lost, with the report including the QR code from the label required for reimbursement.
  • Have been missing for 90 days since the shipment date.
Reimbursement invoices should be sent to Amigos Library Services and include the mailing address for the lending library. Lost items must be reported and invoiced within 1 year of the original shipment date to be eligible for reimbursement.

Reimbursement for damaged items
Damaged items sent between TAE/TExpress participants are eligible for reimbursement once:
  • The damage has been reported by the lending library with the label QR code (required for reimbursement).
  • Photo documentation of damage has been provided.
The invoice should be addressed to Amigos Library Services and include the mailing address for the lending library. Damaged items must be reported and invoiced within 1 year of the original shipment date to be eligible for reimbursement.

Items shipped to Kansas or Missouri
Items shipped to libraries in Kansas or Missouri are not able to be tracked by the courier company. These transactions are governed by the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States. The code states that the requesting/borrowing library will be responsible for the replacement costs of items lost or damaged and that the requesting/borrowing library is responsible for items from the time they are shipped by the lending library until the lending library receives them upon return.

Late drivers, no service, or any other service issues
Please report service disruptions using the disruption of service form via the TAE Participant page or by sending an email to tae@amigos.org as soon as possible. The sooner TAE staff are aware of these situations, the sooner corrective action can be taken.

TAE email discussion list
The TAE office communicates with participating libraries via the TLIST email discussion list. At least one person in your library (usually the person designated as the courier contact) must subscribe to the list for the library to receive courier information and notices posted to the list by TAE staff such as important procedural changes or notices of inclement weather closings.

To register for the TLIST email discussion list, send an email to tae@amigos.org with the institution name, contact name, and contact’s email address.

Holidays and reported Closures
Closures reported by TAE and TExpress participants are posted to the Amigos website for the benefit of all participants. All libraries are asked to advise their driver, in writing, of scheduled closing days, as a supplement to reporting the closure online. Extended closures should be reported to the TAE office.

Holiday and library closings can be reported online via the TAE Participant page.

Package statistics
Courier participants are required to keep statistics for incoming and outgoing packages. Report these statistics each month via the TAE home page.