Hi

My university lost my thesis, it was borrowed two years ago and never returned.

they dont keep proper records to enable control over who borrows a graduate's work.

therefore it is just one word against the other as there is no way to prove if a student returns borrowed material or not.

I sent a complaint about, their answer were flat, bureaucratic, they will let me know when they find it. and thats it.

what to do legally in this case? thanks best

Annoying for you, obviously...but why the feeling that you need to resort to legal action? Presumbly you have your own copy of your thesis?

Did the library or your academic department lose the thesis? If it's the library, didn't they keep 2 copies of your thesis in the first place? I thought that was usually the case. Sorry to sound daft but can they not cover the expenses to re-print?

Are not all British thesis stored by default at the British Library? If so, they surely can ask the BL for a copy? (after working out a proper excuse to avoid admitting they were too desorganized...)

I'm not sure they are stored at the British Library - I certainly wasn't asked to produce a copy for the British Library, only the University (and supervisors). The British Library will have a record of the thesis abstract and if someone wants to borrow the entire thesis, I've always presumed that the British Library arrange to source it directly from the University library...

thanks for the answers.i didnt explain myself clearly, the university administration borrowing system is pretty bad, they cant prove if the thesis was returned or not,

it was borrowed by a student and not returned after two years, however the student affirmed that he/she returned the material.
Is not thethe issue if they have extra copies, the point is that this sort of thing cannot happen. it is ridiculous. thanks best and very annoying and frustrating.