'High trust': Rotorua Library going fines-free

Rotorua Library is following the trend of about 19 others nationwide opting to remove fines on late books, in an effort to focus on literacy "enablement" over enforcement.

The move was discussed in Rotorua Lakes Council Operations and Monitoring Committee meeting on Thursday, and is expected to result in a revenue loss of about $25,000 a year, which the library hopes to mitigate.

Te Aka Mauri director Laura Marshall told elected members fines were introduced to encourage members to return books, but had morphed over time to be a revenue stream.

"That was never the original intent, and a lot of evidence is showing that it's having the undesired effect as a barrier to use."

Te Aka Mauri is the Rotorua Library and Children's Health Hub. It is one of Rotorua Lakes Council's services.

Marshall said currently, if a book was overdue, it accrued fines. When the fines hit $15, library use was blocked. Forty percent of fines remained unpaid and were written off, while users - about 839 people - remained blocked.

"There's also considerable staff time spent on enforcement that we'd rather spend on enablement."

She said people felt shame about fines and would avoid the library.

"Even though they can't take out books, they don't come for programmes, they don't come for learning opportunities and they may not even visit the Children's Health Hub."

Marshall said based on national trends, the library could stand to gain 1000 to 5000 new members by switching to a fines-free model.

Rotorua would join 18 other districts' libraries to remove fines, and among 574 worldwide, she said.

"This is a really big movement."

She said overseas evidence suggested most blocked from borrowing were from low socio-economic groups, fines didn't ensure books were returned, and when fines were removed it improved the morale of staff and customers.

It had also been found the value of revenue was often "not worth collecting" due to the costs of administration and overheads.

A report for the meeting stated revenue loss from removing fines would be about $25,000 a year, and the library was seeking to "confirm budget savings to accommodate" the loss.

Marshall said a common question was whether people would just hold on to their loaned books.

"The evidence shows that regular users will not suffer a drop in service. A high trust model will encourage the community to return books and trust us in return."

Lost book charges would remain, however, along with blocking members with lost books.

"Keep it long enough and it will become lost - we want to be kind, not gullible."

Marshall said she was investigating funding for children with lost books who may be blocked from borrowing privileges.

There would be a one-off debt write-off for fines and lost books, she said, and that was made possible with funding from the New Zealand Library Partnership Programme and the Department of Internal Affairs.

"We really want [those suffering economic and social deprivation] to feel confident to access the building. We don't want anyone to feel embarrassed when they visit us."

Marshall's presentation was met with applause from elected members.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said Te Aka Mauri was "to be the heart of our community".

"You've really made it beat a bit faster for me today."

Chadwick said she understood many members of Friends of the Library were "getting elderly and frail" and needed younger, stronger volunteers to help with their operations.

Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said she was pleased by the move and believed it would reduce inequity and increase the opportunity for children to reach their potential.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air