Thames Coromandel District Libraries removes overdue fines

The decision to remove fines in the Coromandel follows a trend among regional libraries.

Thames-Coromandel District Council’s three district libraries are removing fines for overdue books to “improve access for everyone in our community”, according to a release.

The decision to remove fines in the Coromandel follows a trend among regional libraries to scrap overdue fines and encourage those too scared to return books due to money owing, to return to visiting their local library without stigma.

The policy was implemented in the Waikato, garnering positive results. In the first fine-free month, Cambridge saw an additional 1557 books returned compared with the same time last year. Te Awamutu Library had 470 more books returned to shelves after extended periods on loan.

In a statement, the district council said, “From 1 July, overdue fines will be removed at Thames, Mercury Bay, and Tairua libraries. There will still be a replacement cost for lost or damaged items, and charges for some lending items, as well as services such as printing and scanning.

“So far, over half of Aotearoa’s public libraries have removed overdue fines, reporting a range of positive outcomes, including an increase in membership and use of their services.”

“We are so excited about this positive change,” said council district libraries manager Shana Allan. “It will mean a lot for our community and library services.”

Thames-Coromandel District Libraries removed overdue fines on children’s items three years ago, “leading to a significant increase in memberships”, read the statement.

“Removing overdue fines leads to increasing access for our community and will help our library teams to focus on our goals of improving literacy levels and encouraging reading for pleasure,” Shana Allan said.

“Overdue fines were intended to motivate customers to return books so other customers had access. However, evidence shows they serve as a barrier to access and many people are ashamed to bring back overdue items and pay the fine. Even without fines, people return their books to avoid being charged a replacement fee, and so that they can continue to use the library. Many libraries around the world are reporting that the same number of items, or even more, are being returned on time since going fine-free.

“Those who may struggle with fines are often busy families and young people. The change means librarians can focus on creating positive experiences for library users and helping people engage with their local library, said the council’s statement.

Many believed the increase of information and e-books available at the touch of a keyboard would mean an inevitable downturn in public libraries’ usage, however, statistics do not reflect that assumption.

While libraries may attract the less tech-savvy and those who still enjoy the tactility of books, they remain an important community hub in many areas, and contravene the opinion that the spaces are outdated and no longer fit for purpose.

The most recent statistical Information obtained from publiclibraries.org.nz said libraries throughout the country had 1,624,727 active members in 2019-20, and 1,633,802 for 2020-21, an increase of 0.6 per cent from the previous year.

There were 37,294,662 total physical issues in the 2020-21 period up from 31,866,833 in 2019-20 for an increase of 14.6 per cent. Given the perceived proclivity towards web-based solutions, surprisingly, book issues amongst children and young adults increased a whopping 48.1 per cent from 7,080,506 in 2019-20 to 13,631,284 in 2020-21, although Covid-imposed restrictions may have contributed to the uptick.