Eastern Regional Libraries to scrap late fees for overdue library books

The days of racking up fines of a few cents a day because you’re late in returning a book to your local library are gone.

To further support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 1 July 2020 all items borrowed from Eastern Regional Libraries branches at Croydon and Realm will no longer attract fines if returned late.

Under the new fine-free system, all outstanding fines for overdue items accrued prior to the new policy being introduced will also be waived.

Charges will still apply for lost or damaged items. Borrowers will still be given a due date to return items and members will receive a reminder if someone else has the items on hold.

Under the previous system, borrowers were charged 30 cents per item, per day for overdue books and other materials (maximum of $10 per item for adults and $5 for children).

Eastern Regional Libraries Customer Experience Manager Sarah Hopkins said that while the cost of fines may seem low, it was not uncommon for borrowers to clock up a large fine if there were several items on loan that were overdue.

“More frequently, small fines caused anxiety and stress for both borrowers and staff. We found that these smaller fines were disproportionate to the amount of angst it caused everyone,” Ms Hopkins said.

She said that once items are returned, existing charges would be wiped and borrowing privileges restored.

ERL’s return policy does not apply to downloadable resources such as eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines.

“The beauty of online borrowing means that once the loan period has expired, the item will simply go back into the system to be available for others to borrow,” Ms Hopkins said.

Eastern Regional Libraries joins a growing number of public libraries ditching overdue fees after finding that the penalties discouraged those who stood to benefit the most from free library resources.

Councillor Kylie Spears said the decision to eliminate fines for overdue books and materials meant more community members would be able to access library books and resources without fear of financial penalty.

“Library fines undermine one of the core principles of public libraries - the provision of free and universal access to information,” Cr Spears said.

“Many of us at some point or another have either kept a book for too long or simply forgotten to return it to the library by the due date and have had the misfortune of incurring a fine. There are also many valid reasons for people not returning books, such as lack of transport and illness.

“Late fines are not effective. Studies have shown that fines have no impact on return rates. Once someone has a late fine, they are less likely to visit the library again.

“Late fines, no matter how small, are a very real and significant burden for low-income individuals, seniors, children and families. These types of financial barriers can discourage many people who rely on the library, which means they can’t access books required for schoolwork, use public computers, or simply have a safe, welcoming space to visit,” she said.

The fine-free policy is part of a larger worldwide trend to remove fines at libraries; a move that has boosted both membership and borrowing rates.

In 2018, Tasmania became the first state to abolish fines, which resulted in more than 8,000 new members over the next year.

“Studies indicate that even modest penalties deter people from registering for a library card or using the library because of the risk of incurring fines, while abolishing fines has shown to increase the return rate of books,” Cr Spears said.

“We hope that by doing away with fines altogether it will encourage prior users to come back to the library and attract new members to experience our libraries’ offerings,” she said.

To keep the community engaged with library services during ongoing restrictions, ERL has reintroduced its Click and Collect service at Croydon Library which was suspended during lockdown.

Croydon Library is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm. The one-hour closure will be used to clean and sanitise according to COVID-19 requirements.

From Saturday 11 July, library hours will be extended and will open Saturdays 10am to 12noon.

Realm remains closed until mid-July, this includes Council's Customer Service Centre, library, ArtSpace and CoWorking space.

For more information, visit Eastern Regional Libraries website or call 1300 737 277.