The City of Cape Town has introduced Fine Free Week for children at the City’s libraries. Children younger than 12 will be able to return overdue items without paying fines during the first week of June.
The City’s Library and Information Services will drive their first Fine Free Week for Children from Sunday June 1 2019, which is also International Children’s Day, to June 1 2019.
Previous events indicated that the most overdue items were children’s books. At the moment 2 025 items are outstanding from the 69 147 card holders in the under 12 age group.
‘We want our youngest library patrons to become lifelong readers but this becomes more of a challenge when they don’t come to the library because of overdue books. By staying away, they don’t benefit from any other programs and opportunities which are offered by the library,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
The three most popular overdue books are Diere, David and Goliath and The Three Little Pigs.
‘These are the stories we all grew up with and are loved across generations. Parents can encourage their children to return the books and find new stories to develop their minds, imagination and language skills. Reading is not only a vital skill but it’s a fun way to learn,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
The City’s 104 libraries will participate in the event and books can be returned to any facility.
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