Weather disruption
Winter weather is causing disruption to services in some parts of the county. Find out what services may be affected in your area.
Overdue charges
Overdue charges information:
- the daily charge for books borrowed on an adult library card is 20p per day overdue
- there are no overdue charges for books borrowed on a child's library card
- the overdue charge is applied on the basis that libraries are open 6 days a week
You can:
- return any library item to any Dorset library, or to any library in the LibrariesWest area.
- renew all books except books requested by another customer
Overdue charges for books
| Overdue charges: books | Charges |
|---|---|
Borrowed on an adult card |
20p per day |
Maximum overdue charge |
£9 |
For children |
No charge |
How to avoid overdue charges
You can renew library books:
- online
- through the LibrariesWest App
- by phone 01305 224311
- by visiting your library
Lost or damaged library books
Speak to our staff if you have lost or damaged any library book or other item and they will advise how much you will be charged.
Hire periods
You can hire library items for different periods:
- DVDs:1 week hire period
- talking books: 3 weeks hire period
- music CDs:1 week hire period
Charges are made per hire period.
We ask you for the hire payment when you check the item out.
Courtesy reminders by email
To help you manage your library account, you can sign up for emails to alert you that items on loan will soon be due for return.
Speak to a library staff member to sign up for email alerts or amend your details.
Overdue notifications
Overdue notifications will be sent by email as this is a convenient and cost effective way to contact you. Sign up for an email alert.
Replacement membership cards
We can replace lost membership cards at your local library for a charge of £2.
Hire charges for library items
CDs and DVDs
Hire charges for talking books, CDs, DVDs and language courses:
| Item | Hire charge |
|---|---|
Adult talking books |
£2.20 |
Music CDs |
£1.10 |
Premium DVDs (new titles) |
£3 |
Standard DVDs |
£2.50 |
Information DVDs and other children's |
£1 |
Language courses |
£2.20 |
Music sets
Hire charges for music sets:
| Music sets | Hire charges |
|---|---|
Late or incomplete return |
£20 |
| Music sets | Hire charge |
|---|---|
| Vocal scores | £1.50 per copy for up to 12 weeks loan |
| Orchestral sets | £50 per orchestral set for up to 12 weeks loan |
| Late or incomplete return | £20 |
Drama sets hire charges
| Drama sets | Hire charge |
|---|---|
Play reading |
Free up to 12 weeks |
Overdue charge after 12 weeks |
20p per item per day |
Performance sets |
£12 for 12 weeks |
Overdue charge after 12 weeks |
70p per set per day |
Reading group sets
| Reading group sets | Subscription charge effective from 1 January 2018 |
|---|---|
Annual subscription |
£50 per group for up to 12 sets (10 copies of a title) per annum for 8 week loan period. |
Reservation fees
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
Music sets |
£2 per set |
For material supplied from outside the LibrariesWest area |
£10 per item |
For items in stock in a LibrariesWest library if you collect from any Dorset library |
Free - donations of £1 are welcome |
Printing fees
| Printing from public access computers | Charges |
|---|---|
Black and white A4 per page |
10p |
| Colour A4 per page | 50p |
| Black and white A3 (where available) per page | 20p |
| Colour A3 (where available) per page | £1 |