Fines and charges

We don't charge fines for the late return of Flexibe Loan items. When an item is requested by someone else and not returned on time, you won't be able to borrow anything else until you returned the items: but you won't be charged a late fee until the item is considered lost.

Feel that a fine or charge is unfair?

View our exceptions policy for Library fines.

Lost items: The Lost Item Charge will apply if you tell us that you've lost something that you had on loan, or if we mark an item as Considered Lost (either because it is requested but not returned within the required period, or because it is not renewed or returned within 56 days of the due date). The charge is made up of the replacement cost of the item, plus a £10 inconvenience charge.

If you return an item marked as Considered Lost before you pay the Lost Item Charge, you won't have to pay the replacement cost, but you will still owe the £10 inconvenience charge (plus any fines you have incurred). This remains payable to reflect the inconvenience to other Library users and the staff time involved in the process.
If you have paid for a Considered Lost item and subsequently find it, you will not be refunded the cost of the item, but can keep the item.

Late item	Fine
Locker key requested by another user	£2 per day or part of a day
Laptop	£1 per hour or part of an hour

Note: If you have fines and/or charges of £20 or more you will be unable to borrow or renew items.

How to avoid fines

Check the "Fines & Fees" tab in your Library Account regularly
Check your email for notification of requests. We will let you know as soon as an item is late; return the item as soon as possible to reduce the chances of it getting lost
Contact us if you have a problem visiting the Library, to discuss your options

How to pay your fines/‌charges

Pay at the Self Service Machine on the ground floor of Morrell. We accept credit / debit card (not American Express) and Contactless payment is available.
You can pay the balance in full or part by card and the minimum payment is £0.50.
Pay online using the University's Online Store. These payments may not be processed straightaway - we'll send you an email when the fine has been cleared from your account.

We are unable to take payments at the Library Help Desk or King’s Manor Library.

Questions about our Fines policy

Why don't you charge fines for Flexible Loans anymore?

When the pandemic began, we suspended all fines for returning books late. The last thing our students and staff needed to worry about during lockdown was trying to get items back to the library. That period effectively became a successful trial for a fine-free library - so we decided to make the change permanent.

The main reason libraries charge fines is to give people a good reason to bring books back on time, so other users can borrow them. Our York community has shown that we don’t need to charge people money in order to make the loan system work - you’ve all done your bit, bringing items back promptly and ensuring everyone has access to the books they need. For this system to continue to work, we need you all to continue to play your part, and make our library work for the whole community. As a library we believe our role is to empower our communities to be knowledgeable, active, global citizens through learning, discovery, and research. Staying fine-free will help us achieve these aims. Thank you for helping us save farewell to fines forever.

If someone has a book I need to borrow, what’s their incentive for bringing it back if there are no fines?

Our students and staff are responsible, and respect the need for our resources to be available to the whole community. What’s more when you have a book on loan which is requested by another user, once that book becomes overdue you can’t borrow any more items until it is returned. This has proved to be enough to make sure people bring their books back.

What happens if I lose a book?

Lost item charges still apply. You can find out more about that on our Charges page.

Does this apply to just books, or to everything?

The no-fines policy applies to all Flexible Loans - to books, CDs, DVDs, scores and so on. It doesn’t apply to laptop-loans, or locker-keys, for which late charges still occur.