I am so sorry you went through all of this – and I hate to think how many patrons get turned away/turned off by going through the same scenario (but likely without the happy ending).

For what it’s worth, my library’s policy is that if someone reserved a museum pass and it’s not there when they come to pick it up, we give them the cash value for the pass so they can still get the museum discount. If the fault lies with us, we eat the cost of poor customer service; if the fault lies with another patron (for not returning the pass on time), they get charged for that cost. It doesn’t happen often, but it usually keeps everyone happy and playing fair.