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.”
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