Australia: City of Sydney Scraps Library Fines After Trial Shows Reminders Work Better

From The Guardian:

The City of Sydney council has abolished all library fines after an eight-month trial revealed they do not work as an incentive for people to return books.
Three times as many overdue items were returned to the council’s libraries during the no-fine trial period, compared with the 12 months before the trial.
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More than 60,000 items were returned between July last year and February, some of them decades old.
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Under the new scheme, those with an overdue book will have their membership suspended and will be barred from borrowing until the item is returned.

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Additional Coverage: City of Sydney Library gives fines the flick prompting flood of overdue returns (via ABC)
See Also: Nashville Public Library Eliminated All Overdue Fines as of July 5th

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries