Are you one of those people who forgot to return library books and haven't paid your fine? asks Andrea Jutson.
Be grateful for free libraries. You owe them more than you think.
Across Auckland, book borrowers owe their libraries almost $4 million in unpaid fines and fees. It's a collosal sum given the average fine for an overdue book is 30c a day.
Auckland City residents owe their libraries $1.2 million in unpaid fines and fees, with an average debt of $15 each. Manukau libraries have more than $900,000 in fines and fees outstanding, mostly for lost or damaged books that need replacing, and West Aucklanders owe almost as much despite their smaller population.
If residents incur a council parking infringement, they're expected to pay up or debt collectors will come calling. However, not every council wishes to be that tough on library fines.
In Waitakere and the North Shore, charges are referred to debt collectors only once the sum reaches $50. In Auckland City it's $100, and Manukau Libraries rarely resorts to debt collection at all. If a missing book is returned in Manukau, the fine will be wiped.
``If you're going to use debt collectors for such a small sum, it can be uneconomic,'' says Auckland City Libraries spokeswoman Allison Dobbie.
The suspension of borrowing privileges also varies among councils. Defaulters in Manukau have a month's grace before their privileges are suspended, no matter what their debts are. Waitakere and North Shore libraries freeze borrowing when the debt reaches $10, after which time the book is classified as lost. Papakura's Sir Edmund Hillary Library stops borrowing privileges at $3, capping fines at $12.
In the book-reading South, 8.3 million items were issued to Manukau residents last year; 70 per cent of residents borrowed at least one item.
That compares favourably with Auckland City, whose libraries issued fewer than 5 million items.
Outgoing Manukau Libraries manager Chris Szekely says Manukau borrowers are generally very good about returning books on time, and there have been just 22,000 items lost in five years - a loss rate of less than one per cent.
North Shore Libraries' collections manager, Beth Didovich, says borrowers in Auckland's North are no different.
``Most people return their library books because their card will be frozen if they don't.''
When a book goes missing, North Shore charges customers what the library paid for it, not its replacement cost today. Many libraries do the opposite. However, the average debt for North Shore borrowers is an estimated $150 - 10 times the average debt in Auckland City.
People might expect this money to go back into buying new books or into library operations. This is true only for Auckland City Libraries, which reaped $1.8 million from borrowers last year. In all the others, fines from overdue library books and other library charges go into each council's general revenue. Ms Didovich says the system is fair.
``We believe we get things in return for that money.'' Ms Dobbie says the reason libraries charge fines is to keep turnover of books high.
``It's a fine balance,'' says Szekely. ``You want people to keep coming to the library, but fines are the only deterrent to lateness we have.''
Debt to public libraries stacks up
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