Region of Waterloo Library to host Amnesty Week

(Waterloo Region) – From Aug. 27 to Sept. 1, the Region of Waterloo Library (RWL) is hosting a special Amnesty Week. The goal of Amnesty Week is to encourage members of the public to return overdue materials and welcome past members back to the library.

The Amnesty Week is an initiative recommended by the Region of Waterloo Library Committee to remove the barriers that large overdue fines and lost materials sometimes create, and the Committee is hopeful Township residents will take advantage of this one-time opportunity.

It is an unfortunate fact that many people stop coming to the library when they have very overdue materials because of embarrassment over returning items late, fear of being judged or chastised for late returns, or to avoid fines. The result is a barrier to library service.

“Amnesty Week lets patrons with outstanding materials know that their library misses them and that they are more important to us than fines,” said Kelly Bernstein, Manager of Information Services. “By returning to the library, and bringing back overdue items, we can have a fresh start together!”  

Throughout Amnesty Week, RWL will forgive fines/fees on all overdue materials returned to any RWLibrary Branch. It doesn’t matter if an item is one day, or several years overdue. Library staff will be happy to take back any outstanding library item, and welcome back library members they haven’t seen in awhile. Please note that fines will be forgiven for only those items returned during Amnesty Week.

The Region of Waterloo Library serves residents in the Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich, and circulated over 400,000 items last year. The Region of Waterloo Library staff team recently won a RAVE Service Excellence award from the Region of Waterloo. 

Please visit www.rwlibrary.ca for more information about available library services, programs, and special initiatives. You can also stay connected to RWL through Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, and our soon to be released e-newsletter.

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 For more information, please contact:

 Kelly Bernstein, Manager, Information Services, 519-575-4590 ext. 3229