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Find out about changes to our services and Christmas opening times on our Festive information page. To find out when your bin will be collected over the festive period, visit Changes to County Durham bin collections at Christmas.

Due to maintenance, the following systems will be unavailable from 11.45am on Tuesday 24 December until 8.00am on Thursday 2 January: our online Council Tax, business rates and housing benefit services, and our welfare assistance form. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Library fees and charges


Library fees and charges for 2024/25.

Fines on overdue books, CDs

Charge forPrice
Adults22p per day
Maximum charge for Adults per book issue/renewal£6
Children/Senior Citizens14p per day
Maximum charge for Children/Senior Citizens per book issue/renewal£3
Children under 5No fine

Fines on late/non return of music sets

Charge forPrice
For music sets which are returned either late or incomplete£50

Fines on late return of language courses

Charge forPrice
Adults£1 per day
Maximum charge for Adults£24
Children/Senior Citizens75p per day
Maximum charge for Children/Senior Citizens£13.50

Reservation fees for books

Charge forPrice
Adults20p per item
Senior Citizens20p per item
Children/UnemployedNo charge

Reservation fees for books obtained outside the council area

Charge forPrice
Adults£17
Senior Citizens£17
Children/UnemployedNo charge
Renewal charge£10

Reservation fees for vocal scores

Charge forPrice
Durham County stock£20
Non Durham County stock£30 plus additional postage charge of £10 per ten copies

Reservation fees for Orchestral Sets

Charge forPrice
Durham County stock£10 per set
Non Durham County stock£20 per set plus additional postage charges at full cost recovery

Lost, stolen or damaged books and audio materials

Charge forPrice
AdultsThe full replacement cost at current prices irrespective of age or condition
Children/Senior Citizens65% of full replacement cost
British Library lost book (charge levied against Durham County Council by The British Library)£156.50 minimum

Borrowers cards

Replacement charge for lost cards for computer issuing system

Charge forPrice
Adults£1
Children/Senior Citizens50p

Spoken word (3 week loan)

Charge forPrice
Adult titles£1.50 per title
Children's titlesFree
Print deniedFree

Language courses (3 month loan)

Charge forPrice
Standard charge for whole course to be paid in advance (more than single cassette/CD)£13.50

DVD

Charge forPrice
DVD - 1 week loan55p
Fines for all DVDsAs per weekly hire

Self service photocopies per side

Including CD Rom, internet and PC printouts

Charge forPrice
A420p
A340p

Colour prints per sheet per side

Including CD Rom, internet and PC printouts

Charge forPrice
A460p
A390p

Hire of rooms

Charge forPrice
Commercial organisations£20 per hour standard rate
Non-commercial organisations, registered charities and Durham County Council£12 per hour standard rate
Hire of open spaces within libraries for 1 to 3 peopleFree
Hire of open spaces within libraries for 4 to 13 people (max)£2 per person per hour
Hire of open spaces within libraries for 14 or more peopleStandard hourly rate applies
Out of opening hours or non-staffed times - no concessions available£35 per hour standard rate

Reproduction of photographs

Charge forPrice
For private or study purposesCost + 15%
For commercial useCost + 15% plus royalty fee of £20 per photograph (min) or copy of book (if appropriate)

Scan services

Charge forPrice
Scan services£1 per document

Laminating

Charge forPrice
A4£2
A3£3

Binding

Charge forPrice
Small (up to 100 pages)£3
Medium (101 to 200 pages)£4
Large (over 201 pages)£5

Information Services - printouts from Durham Record or Microfilm reader/printer

Charge forPrice
Small image (eg pages from census returns, small photographs and pages of text)48p per copy
Large image (eg large photographs and maps)60p per copy

Postage costs

Where postage costs are incurred these will be levied in full in addition to the service charge where appropriate.

Commission on exhibition sales

Commission will be charged on any items sold in Culture and Sport premises on behalf of other individuals or organisations. This will be at a minimum of 10% for community groups and individual artists to a maximum of 25% when exhibiting in a library setting.


Authority is delegated to the Director of Regeneration and Local Services to vary charges in the light of local circumstances that reflects provision by other local agencies. Any variation would not be less than 50% of the standard charge and will be clearly advertised.



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