Recent figures released to Vision by the University reveal that the amount of money earned by the library through fines has risen by approximately £30,000 in the past three years.
The library has tried to amend this by introducing modifications to their loan system at the beginning of the academic year, following unsatisfactory levels in a student experience survey. A third year Politics and Economics student who wished to remain anonymous said: “I’m not surprised library fines have gone up each year. What I want to know is how the university have spent all this extra money?”
This information is in light of rising frustration amongst York students at the existing long loan system, which has yet to be amended by the university. With the current system, students away from York for the holidays have to post back their borrowed books that have been requested by others, otherwise facing a £2 per item per day fine.
Florence-Anne Stratton, a third year English student, explains her annoyance at the policy, “I had to go home early this term and all of the books I had taken out were requested when I got home. I emailed the library telling them my situation and they said they would waive my fine, however when I came back to university, all of the fines were still on my card. This meant I couldn’t get any more books out before giving the others back, which hugely impacted the work I could do on my essays.”
She continues to complain: “It just doesn’t make sense to me that if you get a book out before someone else, you then have to give it to them, surely it should just be that you can’t renew it once it has been requested.”
The Library is currently looking in to subsidising postage costs, which are a further inconvenience for students studying at home over the holidays.
Second year History student, Freya Sydney-Smith, laments: “Students staying in York have a definite advantage. They can request books whenever, whereas students at home have to spend time and money returning books by post, at the disposal of others.”
Other modifications to the loan system have been on the whole positive, working on the basis of reducing unnecessary costs for those who have borrowed books by making sure no fines are given, unless others are inconvenienced by late return of a requested item.
The University registrar David Duncan commented: “The only change in the fines system is the overall reduction in fines levied on students – down 40% so far this year. The fines for people who do not return books requested by others haven’t changed. All the feedback we have received from student reps suggests that these fines are necessary to allow fair access to materials.” He also adds recent student feedback has been “very positive” since the changes were implemented.
“What I want to know is how the university have spent all this extra money?”
Yeah, it’s not like the library has just had a massive refurbishment or anything.