Are the following actions considered unlawful (haram), and must the items be returned to their owners: 1. Taking summaries from the school library stealthily, then it becomes clear that they are priced and old? 2. Taking textbooks from among the books distributed for free and left outside the school library? 3. Not returning trivial items (like a pen or hair clips) taken from others, due to feeling shy or finding it difficult to return them because of travel or a changed relationship?

What was taken surreptitiously, you must return to its owner. As for books discarded after the exam, there is no harm in taking them. However, if they were merely left and their owners will return to retrieve them, then it is not permissible to take them, and they must be returned to their owners or their value given in charity. The same applies to borrowed tools. If the owner is unknown, then they fall under the ruling of lost and found items (luqata). We commend your eagerness to free yourself from the rights of others.