Islington Council: Library fines abolished to support residents during cost-of-living crisis

A north London council has decided to abolish library fines in a move it hopes will make the borough “more equal…by removing a barrier for our least well-off residents”.

Islington Council had been issuing library fines to those aged between 18 and 60 years old since free public libraries were introduced in the borough in 1905.

Users who had not returned items on time were charged a rate of 17p per item per day, up to a maximum charge of £7.65 per item.

However, the council said penalising those in financial hardship can discourage them from borrowing books and other resources. As such, in addition to no longer issuing fines moving forward, it has introduced a “fines amnesty”, meaning those currently with very overdue items can return without worrying about having to pay.

Cllr Roulin Khondoker, executive member for equalities, culture and inclusion, said: “We know how vital our libraries are - they offer free access to books, the internet, events, warm spaces and so much more.

“Abolishing fines for late returns will help us make Islington a more equal borough by removing a barrier for our least well-off residents – encouraging them to make more use of the amazing facilities we have on offer. This is especially important at the moment as many people are already struggling with the cost of living.

“Free access to books can provide so much, for education and entertainment, so I am delighted that we can make our libraries more welcoming for people in Islington.”

The council added it does not expect its stock to be impacted, and that it will continue to remind borrowers to return books.

Research carried out in March 2022 by the charity Libraries Connected found 16 of the 61 library services involved had removed library fines, with 33% considering their removal.

Loss of income was among the reasons given for sticking with fines, though the research also indicated that the move helped increase visitors, with 40% of the libraries which had removed fines seeing a rise in adults using their services.