Amnesty held for overdue library books in East Sussex

The seven-week book amnesty runs from 13 February to 31 March

A book amnesty is being held in libraries across East Sussex.

Residents are being asked by East Sussex County Council to check their bookshelves, behind their sofas and under their beds for overdue library books.

Almost 5,000 books a year are not returned in the county.

The seven-week amnesty runs from 13 February to 31 March, when all fines will be waived by the library service for any books returned.

Classic novels such as Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and War Horse by Michael Morpurgo are amongst the well-known fiction titles that have been out on loan the longest.

More than 70 copies of Roald Dahl's children's books are currently missing, while the most overdue adult fiction author is James Patterson.

'People miss out'

Councillor Claire Dowling said: "Our libraries contain many thousands of books which are available for library members to borrow for free.

"But unfortunately, every year many titles fail to make it back to us and if books aren't returned other people miss out.

"During the amnesty, I urge residents who think they may have an overdue book to look around their homes to see if they can help us recover some of the missing items and allow more people to enjoy them."

Books can be returned to any library in East Sussex during opening hours, or alternatively, most libraries have drop boxes for out of hours returns.

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