For every residence hall on campus, there is a lost and found at the front desk.

Joshua Lawrie, assistant director for residential life, said that the policy is usually the same for each residence hall.

If something is turned into a residents hall’s lost and found, they will keep the item for a semester or until someone claims it. If no one claims an item, it is either donated or thrown away, Lawrie said.

Jody Stone, the associate director of residential life and conference services, said lost and found items in Ford and Weller halls are taken to McKinney Hall.

Lawrie said if the front desk of a residence hall receives room keys, they would send them to the matching building.

Stone said many lost and found items in the residence halls are directly or eventually sent to the University Police Department.

“If it’s something really valuable, then it is given to University Police Department,” Stone said. “If they don’t take it, then we keep it until someone claims it.”

Jenifer Shupe, an employee of the University Police Department, said items are kept at the department forever, unless they are claimed.

“Money that is not claimed just stays there,” Shupe said.

Arlene Brown, office manager for Booth Library, said that items in Booth Library are kept indefinitely.

There are two lost and founds in Booth Library. Anything that may have value, like a wallet, jewelry or cellphone, is kept upstairs in the Administration office, Brown said. The circulation desk keeps items like gloves, hats and backpacks.

“Valuables are claimed fairly quickly,” Brown said. “If we can identify them, we email them. If it’s a cellphone we look through the contacts list and call mom and dad.”

Brown said one of the longest items in the lost and found at Booth Library was an iPod and car keys.

“We had an mp3 player for over a year,” Brown said. “We still have one or two keys that we have had for over a year. You’re not going anywhere if you lose your keys.”

But Brown said the reason she thinks people do not claim items is because they do not realize they’re lost.

“People don’t know that they have lost items so they don’t think to check here,” Brown said.

Amanda Wilkinson can be reached at 581-2812 or akwilkinson@eiu.edu.