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Islanders with overdue items from Jersey Library will no longer have the book thrown at them - fines are set to be scrapped for good in the hope of helping more people fall in love with reading.
The library in St. Helier, Communicare and the island’s mobile libraries will all officially be going ‘fine-free’ from tomorrow, World Book Day (Thursday 3 March).
Customers will still be sent overdue reminders, but there won’t be any financial penalty.
Chief Librarian Ed Jewell said it followed a trend sweeping libraries “across the world”.
“…It has been shown that in charging fines libraries often find they lose the fine, the book and the customer, which is precisely the opposite of what we want to achieve as a service,” he explained.
“We hope that this decision will encourage more people to use this hugely beneficial service and engender a love of reading.”
Pictured: The Chief Librarian said the aim was to "remove barriers that may put people off using our libraries."
He continued: “This is a significant step in our drive to remove barriers that may put people off using our libraries.
"In 2021, we gave all primary school children a free membership to help encourage more reading among young islanders.
“We know that the worry of accruing fines on borrowed children’s books can put some families off using the library.
"We hope that these changes will make our libraries more accessible and help play a part in putting children first.”
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