Orange Mayor Reg Kidd has welcomed the decision to abolish fees for overdue library books at Central West Libraries, which came into effect on 1 August.
At their July 27 meeting, Councillors decided to remove the overdue fees in a bid to increase the accessibility of library services to the community.
Cr Kidd said a report to Council stated the fines only contributed a small amount of income each year, but often deterred families from using the library's resources altogether.
FEES WAIVED: Central West Libraries manager Roslyn Cousins and Librarian Julie Sykes return books to the shelves at Orange City LIbrary.
"Overdue fees are intended to encourage the borrower to return materials by the due date, but library data has found they actually discourage people from using the library at all," Cr Kidd said.
"Central West Libraries has almost 40,000 members and, of these, 8510 borrowers who have overdue fines haven't used the library in more than 12 months.
"The library plays such an important role in our community, we want it to be a service that everyone can access and enjoy without obstacle, especially those who can't afford to purchase their own books."
Orange City Council's Services Committee Chair Cr Scott Munro said the potential lost income from waiving the overdue fees was estimated to be just $5200 a year.
"Council also resolved to waive any existing overdue fees, essentially providing a clean slate for anyone with a current debt," Cr Munro said.
"However, a financial penalty will stay in place for borrowers who lose, damage or keep library materials, in order to recoup the cost of the items, and once paid, the borrower will be able to borrow again.
"Going forward, borrowers with overdue books will not be able to borrow again until they return their overdue items, so there's that incentive to do the right thing and return materials by the due date, for others to enjoy."
