Wellington City Libraries

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Ngā Utunga, Ngā Mea Kei Ngaro, me Ngā Rā Tātū Payments, lost items & due dates

Have a read below for information about our due dates policy, email reminders and more.


Due Dates Policy

  • Please return your items by the due date — or, if no one else has reserved it, you may renew them online or in our libraries to extend their due date.
  • Please let us know when your contact details change.
  • From 1 July 2022 there are no overdue fines (unless your account had already passed to a debt collection agency).
  • Parents are responsible for items taken out on their children's cards.
  • Notices are sent out after an item has been overdue for five days after the due date and after an item has been overdue one month, your card may be blocked.
  • Replacement costs are charged for lost or damaged items.

This is in line with the Wellington City Libraries' Customer Charter.

Customer Charter

Interlibrary returns

Due to the closure of the Central Library, items borrowed from our libraries can be returned at any branch without incurring an inter-library return fee. Returning items to the library you borrowed them from means they are back on the shelves sooner, for others to borrow. It means we can provide a more efficient service so that you get the most out of our libraries.

Email notices

We can send you automatic reminder emails 3 days before and 5 days after your items are due. To make email your preferred notification method, fill out our email notices request form.

If a notification bounces back, we will contact you via our automated phone system or by post.

Email notices request form

Payment options

Online payments

You can pay with a credit or debit card on our online payments site.

Make an online payment

In person

In person at any Wellington City Libraries branch.

By phone

Call 801 4058 or 801 4055, Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 4:00pm with your credit card details.

By online banking

Create a payment to:

  • WCC bank account — 06 0582 0106111 00
  • Put 'Library' as your Reference
  • Put your library card number as your Code
  • Put your name in the Particulars field

After paying, please email our Customer Accounts team to confirm your payment which you should see on your account within a few days.

What do you do if you have a lost or damaged item?

Lost items

Contact your library and let them know that you have lost an item as soon as you can. The replacement cost will be automatically loaded onto your card ready for payment.

Damaged items

If you have damaged an item, you will be asked to pay the full replacement cost.

If an item is returned with a part missing it will be classed as a damaged item (e.g. a DVD/CD returned without the disk or cover). If you find and return (in good condition) a item within six months of paying, you will receive a refund of the replacement cost.

Library Elf

For email reminders before your items are due, here is information about Library Elf.

Please note: If you're interested in signing up to this service, we do advise you to read through the Library Elf FAQs provided first, in particular the privacy statement about the library card details you're providing to them. Library Elf is a completely independent service from Wellington City Libraries based in Canada, so we are unable to take responsibility for Library Elf's failure to deliver e-mail or other notices.

Contact us

If you have any queries about overdue charges please email us or phone your local branch library.

Please have your library card number ready so we can check your record.

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