Outer London borough libraries are more likely to see children’s books go missing than inner boroughs, a series of Freedom of Information requests has shown.
The requests, sent to every London borough, showed that outer London boroughs like Bexley, Havering and Sutton are more likely to have more books go missing since 2023, especially children’s picture books.
Libraries often split books into four main categories: adult fiction, adult non-fiction, children’s fiction and children’s non-fiction but London’s library systems are not the same, meaning many areas were unable to provide the exact information that was requested.
Of the 13 boroughs that supplied genre information, nine of them have seen an increase in children’s books going missing – just under 70%.
Out of those nine, seven of them are in outer London.
Among those boroughs, children’s books were consistently amongst the highest genre of books registered as missing, lost, stolen or long overdue.
Richmond Lending Library is one of these, as it saw more than a 50% increase in children’s fiction books going missing from 2023 to 2025.
As Emily Cooke, assistant librarian at Richmond Lending Library, said: “We are definitely getting so many more people coming to the library.
“People are bored of reading on their phones and they want to pick up a physical book but don’t want to pay £15 to buy one.”
It is logical to assume that children’s books are more likely to go missing – parents can forget to return them or not have the time if they are working, and children can also misplace them.
However, an increase in the number of books disappearing means that more children’s books are being taken out of libraries despite children’s reading for enjoyment hitting a ‘crisis point’ last year, according to the National Literacy Trust.
In Sutton Central Library, 620 more children’s books went missing in 2025/26 alone compared to adult books, and picture books constituted almost a quarter – so there is a demand.
According to Cooke, primary schools have been addressing this disparity and have tried to encourage children to engage with reading by planning library visits.
The trips involved children speaking with librarians to understand the benefits of reading and plan to return at a later date with their parents to, hopefully, take out a book.
Cooke said: “The kids are so excited to come back. They’re making friends at the library and talking about their books, which I think is really lovely.”
However the uptake in children’s books not being returned means someone must pay a price.
As a result of hundreds of books going missing, it reduces the variety of books that children can access. Cooke explained a time when she could not find a book one child had requested because it had never been returned.
She said: “It’s more frustrating when you have to let down so many other children because we don’t have that book anymore.
“You tell them it was meant to be back two weeks ago and then you have another child that’s disappointed.”
In Barking and Dagenham, junior fiction saw more than a 3000% jump in books being registered as lost or missing from 2023/24 to this year, as 123 more books were not returned.
In Southwark, however, it was children’s non-fiction that was the worst – it saw a 275% increase within the same time frame.
But who is at fault? While parents have a responsibility to make sure their children are returning books on time or extending them, as children’s books don’t incur any fine, they may not feel a sense of urgency.
One mother living in Bromley, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “When I went through a period where I was so stressed and busy, I just didn’t prioritise sending them back.
“My address and email haven’t changed but they haven’t chased me for the books.”
Although it is not just the child who feels the pinch as Cooke said that libraries have to front the cost of restocking overdue library books.
The money comes from their budget – and not every borough receives the same amount of funding.
She said: “Luckily in Richmond we get such good funding so we’re often able to buy a new copy.”
Many parents complained to the Londoners about the opening times of libraries, claiming libraries do not give working parents a chance to return books because they are not open.
For other parents however, shame is the main factor that stops them from handing back a book.
Another mother said: “I took out six books in 2016 that I have never returned. I suffered post natal depression and it took a while to get on my feet with a young child.
“I feel so guilty and it has prevented me getting up the courage to go back and get my kids a library card of their own. I just can’t face the judgement.”
Despite this, Cooke urged parents to not feel embarrassed.
She said: “If their child has ripped a book, parents will pretend they can’t find it. But we’d rather them just return it and we can get a new copy.
“We’re never going to be angry.”
When asked whether a greater punishment should be given to those who take books out but do not return them, Cooke was decisive.
She said: “No. It’s good to see them going out. We need to create an atmosphere where people aren’t ashamed to return them late or broken.
If we came across less strict, it would encourage more people to come back with their lost books.”
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