The city's library members had generated $385,000 worth of debt relating to the borrowing and return of library items, as at June 2011.
This equated to an average of $5.31 for each registered member, although library services manager Bernie Hawke said it was low compared with other public libraries in New Zealand.
Debt could be incurred in several ways, including lost item charges, overdue account charges, holds charges, and a charge for referral to a debt recovery agency.
On the other hand, the library received more than $522,000 from customer and collection-related sources, including extended loan and lost or damaged book charges, in the 2010-11 year.
Last year, the library activated a pre-alert function, reminding members via email three days before their items were due back.
An overdue message was sent one day after the due date and charges of 30c per item, per day, were instigated.
If items were not returned within 25 days, a final account was sent, billing the customer for the cost of the item. Accrued overdue charges were replaced by a $15 overdue account fee.
Library accounts have a debt limit of $20, after which borrowing was blocked until debt was reduced below that level.
About 15,000 members had debt below $20, and Mr Hawke said it was common for people to operate their accounts that way.
Last August, the library ran a "food for fines amnesty", encouraging members to donate cans of food to wipe their debt.
While charges relating to holds, rentals, damaged and lost items and any accounts referred to Baycorp were excluded, more than 8400 cans were received, and total debt was reduced by $29,765.
Mr Hawke said, while there was no major concern about the level of users' debt, "there is always room for improvement in the process" so a new debt recovery programme would be trialled this year.
The library currently referred debt more than $80 to Baycorp for a flat fee of $5 per referral and 25% commission on recovered debt. These costs were not recovered from members.
During the trial, overdue accounts of more than $50 remaining unpaid 21 days after the final notice will be referred to a US-based debt recovery company. Unique Management sent letters and made telephone contact with debtors and charged $12.80 for each referral.
In addition, the library will charge $15 for each overdue account referred to a debt recovery agency.
Mr Hawke was happy with library use. Visits reached 1,111,798 and reference inquiries reached 156,951 in the 2010-11 year. They were 393,614 and 54,807, respectively, between July and October 2011.
"Library usage is still at a high level.
"We are not experiencing any significant reductions, visits and inquiries are up and borrowing is stable.
"I think the library continues to be a well-used, and valued, community resource."
