In all of East Sussex's libraries, there is a book amnesty going on.
East Sussex County Council is requesting that residents search their bookcases, behind their sofas, and under their beds for overdue library materials.
In the county, almost 5,000 books are not returned each year.
The seven-week amnesty, which runs from February 13 to March 31, will result in the library service waiving all fines for any returned books.
The well-known fiction books that have been out on loan the longest include classics like War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
Roald Dahl's children's books currently have more than 70 copies missing, whereas James Patterson's adult fiction is the most overdue.
"Our libraries have thousands of books that library members can borrow for free," said councilwoman Claire Dowling.
But regrettably, many titles fail to return to us each year, and if books aren't returned, other readers miss out.
"During the amnesty, I encourage locals who believe they may have a late book to search their homes to see if they can assist us in recovering some of the missing items and enabling more people to enjoy them. ".
During open hours, you can return books to any library in East Sussex. Alternatively, most libraries have drop boxes for after-hours returns.
