Libraries: Powys becomes latest council in Wales to drop fines

Bookworms in Powys will no longer be fined for returning overdue books.

The council hopes the move will bring users back to the county's 18 libraries after a fall in use since the pandemic.

It is the fifth council in Wales to drop overdue book fines, Powys council said, with five others considering the move.

Some have welcomed the move, with others warning it could mean people having to wait longer to be able to loan a book.

"Those who have built up fines will feel a bit more comfortable coming back," said Wrexham poet and author Evrah Rose.

But fines are not the only thing keeping people away from their local library, according to the 34-year-old who does poetry readings.

"When I look at libraries across Wales, including our own library in Wrexham, I don't see much in terms of advertisement and especially profile on social media," Ms Rose said.

"So we don't get that engagement, there's a disconnect between libraries and the community."

Powys council will permanently remove fines from 8 September unless the decision is "called in" for scrutiny by councillors.

Customers could still be liable to pay for replacement books.

Ms Rose said libraries also needed to do more to tell communities about what they have to offer, like free internet or kids' clubs.

"I don't know if a lot of people know about that," she said. "Libraries are such a rich resource but there's no bridge between them and the community."

She said she understood library budgets and staffing had been cut, but a better "online presence" would not cost that much.

"I think because generally there is a perception [libraries] are outdated," she said. "Imagine if we saw pop-ups, for example in Wrexham centre, where people can chat to a librarian to see what is going on."

The argument for "fine-free" libraries was made to councillors in a report by Powys' senior librarian, Susan Summers.

In it, Ms Summers said the idea was to "remove barriers to public use".

"Removing fines permanently will help us rebuild the audience and encourage lapsed users to return to the library post-pandemic," she said.

Loans to children are already fine-free and the library service suspended all fines at the start of the first lockdown, a policy that remains in place.

"We also removed any unpaid fines incurred before [March 2022]," Ms Summers said.

"This allowed us to send a strong message to customers that there would not be any fines to pay for overdue items.

"This has been well received by customers although library use has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels."

"Library fines are a double-edged sword," said Emma Corfield-Walters.

The owner of Book-ish, a bookshop in Crickhowell, said while dropping them may encourage some people to use the library more, it could also make it more difficult for users to loan the books they want.

"Talking to people I know who are using the library, they all tend to be in a queue to get the most popular books," she said.

"If there are no fines or repercussions for people who bring back those books late, people will be waiting a lot longer.

"If it's not abused it's a good thing because it will help people to access reading, especially those most vulnerable who need access to a good library and librarian, given the difficult times we are currently living through."