fbpx
15.3 C
Cape Town
Sunday, October 6, 2024

It’s Fine Free week – return outstanding library items

Published on

 

It is Fine Free week at libraries across the City of Cape Town. This will allow patrons to return overdue and outstanding items at libraries without having to pay any fines.

 

The has been a slight decrease in the number and value of outstanding items at City libraries.

 

Currently, there are 35 411 items outstanding. Collectively these items are valued at R3,9 million. This is a notable decrease when compared to 39,000 outstanding items with a value of R4,6 million last year.

 

“While we are enthused by the drop in the number of items that are outstanding, the fact that material worth nearly R4 million is still unaccounted for, remains a bitter pill to swallow.” said Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services, Councillor Patricia van der Ross.

 

One thing that does however remain unchanged, is that The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is the most popular outstanding item at libraries across the City.

 

Title Author Copies outstanding
Wrecking ball Jeff Kinney 28
Double down Jeff Kinney 23
Geography, Grade 12 study guide Susan Rushton 22
History, Grade 12 study guide A Rogers 20
Cinderella Various authors 19
Dog days Jeff Kinney 19
The deep end Jeff Kinney 19
The Getaway Jeff Kinney 19
English, Grade 12 study guide Sue Jordaan 18

 

 

Just last week, libraries kicked off South African Library Week (SALW) with a march through the Cape Town city centre. SA library week coincides with fine free week and runs from 18 to 23 March 2024.

The theme for this year’s South African Library Week is ‘Libraries foster social cohesion’.

 

“Our libraries provide access to information and engage communities on several platforms. We provide the tools for communication and learning, which includes making material accessible and available to all our patrons. During Fine Free Week, our patrons have the opportunity to play their part and return outstanding material so we can share the wealth of knowledge and enjoyment” added Van der Ross

 

A number of City libraries will celebrate SALW with targeted events throughout the week.

In addition, the Central, Wynberg, Langa, Harare and Pinelands libraries will be part of the literary programme of the Open Book Festival.

 

DATE  TIME EVENT VENUE
18 March 11:00 – 12:00 Storytime at Central Library Central Library in four different areas
19 March 14:00 – 16:00 How to write a children’s book with Thabiso Mahlape, founder of Blackbird Books. Open to adults. Wynberg Library

 

Van der Ross has encouraged library patrons to return outstanding items as it will give others a fair opportunity to enjoy them and ease the load on our library collection.

 

“Our libraries have limited budgets, and so are not always able to replace items.”

 

READ MORE: New tech at City libraries

Danielle Mentoor
Danielle Mentoor
Danielle is Smile FM's PM drive news reader. She has been in the radio industry since 2020 and started her career at a community radio station. When she's not keeping you up to date with the latest news, she's exploring the outdoors.

Latest articles

WCG, City and police tries to tackle extortion in the transport sector

  The Western Cape Government (WCG), together with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the City of Cape Town have engaged in discussions to...

Drakenstein residents protest against Eskom’s proposed 40% tariff hike

  Drakenstein residents took to the streets of Paarl on Monday to embark on a peaceful community-driven march against Eskom's proposed 40% electricity tariff increase.   Western...

ICYMI: Home Affairs clears nearly 250,000 backlogged IDs

  The Department of Home Affairs has announced that, within the space of one month, its officials have managed to fully clear the backlog of...