5,000 books missing from libraries in East Sussex

Around 5,000 books haven’t been returned to libraries in East Sussex but now is your chance to bring them back without being fined.
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Residents are being asked to look for any unreturned library books. From February 13 - March 31 if you return an overdue book you won’t be fined.

Missing books include Moby-Dick, Wuthering Heights, and War Horse. The most overdue adult fiction author is James Patterson. Non-fiction books are also missing and a copy of Bill Oddie's Introduction to Birdwatching is the most overdue adult non-fiction title.

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Popular titles such as The Hungry Caterpillar, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Gruffalo are some of the overdue children’s books. More than 70 copies of Roald Dahl’s children’s books are currently missing from East Sussex libraries.

5,000 books missing from libraries in East Sussex (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)5,000 books missing from libraries in East Sussex (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
5,000 books missing from libraries in East Sussex (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Councillor Claire Dowling, lead member for transport and environment at East Sussex County Council, said: “Our libraries contain many thousands of books which are available for library members to borrow for free. Unfortunately, every year many titles fail to make it back to us and if books aren’t returned other people miss out.

“During the amnesty, I urge residents who think they may have an overdue book to look around their homes to see if they can help us recover some of the missing items and allow more people to enjoy them.”

Books can be returned to any East Sussex library during opening hours and most libraries also have drop boxes for out of hours returns.