Plan to abolish library fines

​Residents are being encouraged to have their say on a radical plan to permanently abolish all overdue fines at Canterbury-Bankstown’s nine Library and Knowledge Centres.

An eight-month trial, which ended in June this year, led to a 30 per cent reduction in overdue items, indicating library members were no longer fearful of or embarrassed by returning late items.

Mayor Khal Asfour said more than 1,700 overdue items were returned during the trial.

“There was actually also an increase in borrowing, particularly children’s books,” he said.

Compared to the same period in 2017/18:

Junior fiction loans increased by 51 per cent from 73,658 to 111,397 items;Junior graphic novel loans increased 181 per cent from 5,129 to 14,412 items;Junior non-fiction loans increased 54 per cent from 27,397 to 42,145 items;Junior magazines increased 148 per cent from 1,001 to 2,377 items; andLoans of literacy materials also increased 92 per cent from 3,661 to 7,019 items.

A total of 1,000,200 items were borrowed from Canterbury-Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centres in 2018/19, and only three percent remained overdue by the end of the trial.

“Public libraries are increasingly becoming meeting places and residents should be encouraged, not deterred, from using their local library,” Mayor Asfour said.

“While it is challenging to study the effect overdue fines have on people, it appears the policy of fining them has not been effective in getting books returned to the Library any faster.

“In fact, the abolishment of overdue fines encourages library members to return items, without feeling the stigma around receiving a fine, and this ultimately provides an incentive for community members to re-establish a connection with their local library.”

To share your views on the proposed abolishing of overdue fines, visit cb.city/haveyoursay