Te Awamutu, Cambridge libraries welcome back readers and books after removing fines

Cambridge librarians, from left: Dee Atkinson, Christine Lewis and Rachel Newnes are welcoming overdue books and long-lost faces back to the library.

The removal of fines for overdue library books has seen some long-lost faces welcomed back to Waipā's libraries.

The district council stopped fining for all overdue adult books in July this year, saying the $18,000 collected in fines was barely covering administration costs and was creating tension for library staff.

The move has seen a flood of long overdue books returned – more than 20 alone from one Cambridge library user with multiple people returning more than 10 books at a time.

In the first fine-free month, Cambridge saw an additional 1557 books returned compared to the same time in 2022. It was a similar story in Te Awamutu, with 470 more books finally being returned to shelves, many after years away. Return figures for August look likely to tell a similar story.

Cambridge library supervisor Rachel Newnes said hundreds of children’s books had come back in just the last couple of months, despite the council having removed all fines for overdue children’s books in 2019.

“It doesn’t matter, we’re welcoming all books back no matter what genre. What’s lovely is that we’re seeing people come back into the library we haven’t seen in some time,” Newnes said.

“One person was crying happy tears because with her books returned and fines dropped, she felt comfortable using the library again.”

The change looks to have also encouraged a jump in registered library users, across both libraries. In July alone Cambridge had 139 new patrons and Te Awamutu 104.

“We are thrilled councillors agreed to make this change. The impact has been universally positive for both staff and library users.”