Oxford’s departmental libraries made almost £150,000 from library fines last year, Cherwell has learnt.
Oxford University libraries raked in £146,085 from late returns in the academic year ending July 2009. This figure does not take into account the money raised by college libraries.
Oxford University Library Services (OULS) operate a standardised fining system in the majority of their libraries, charging 20p per day for standard loans, £1 per day for short loans and 50p per hour for overnight loans.
These tariffs do not apply to the Continuing Education Library, Health Care Libraries, Latin American Centre Library or the Said Business School. Loan periods also vary between libraries.
James Shaw, Library Services Manager at the Radcliffe Science Library explained that the income gained from library fines is not used for “a specific purpose as such; they contribute towards the general running of OULS.” The maximum fine for a book from an OULS library is generally £10, yet many students reported higher figures, with one student complaining of a total of £160 owed for lost volumes.
“There needs to be some sort of incentive for students to return books on time”
College income from library fines varies greatly. St. Peter’s collected £2756.08 in fines last year, while St. Anne’s raised £650 and Somerville received £430. The highest possible fine at St Peter’s is £20.
Some libraries, including Lincoln, Queen’s, Brasenose, Wadham and Jesus do not charge students any library fines. Jesus Librarian Sarah Cobbold explained that the fact that fines are not charged “is not born of philanthropy, rather of pragmatism.” One Lincoln student agreed that the system was effective, “Lincoln library doesn’t fine but puts you on a blacklist instead, relying on peoples’ consciences…and it works!”
Other consciences are not so clear. One third year Wadhamite admitted that since the college does not have a Librarian present at all times and does not charge fines, students “just take [books] without checking them out and keep them forever, so half our books are missing.”
The variation in cross-college attitudes towards library fines has frustrated some students, with one third year commenting, “Fines should be standard across colleges. If lots of libraries can survive without charging fines, why does mine have them?”
Jonny Medland, OUSU VP for Access and Academic Affairs agreed that fairness needed to be an important consideration, “There needs to be some sort of incentive for students to return books on time and proportionate library fines can have a role to play in this. It’s important that fines are capped, so that students can’t rack up huge bills if their books are a few days overdue. Colleges should look at what they do in this area and see if it’s truly effective – if some colleges are far harsher than others then it’s a problem.”
Colleges that do not operate a fining system can still charge for lost books. Worcester charged £217 for lost books last year, while Lincoln collected a total of £42. St. Anne’s estimates the cost of unreturned books to the library at around £100 each year. Susan Griffin, Hertford College Librarian said, “I am afraid I don’t know [the amount] because students steal so many.” Harris Manchester Library claims one student still owes them £600 worth of books.
The Oxford Union charges 10p a day for overdue books and £1 a day for overdue audiovisual items, with a limit on both of £10. If a member fails to return a book after being contacted twice by the Union, they are banned from borrowing from the library, their name is posted on the library notice board and their Union membership could be suspended.
Libraries will usually waive fines in extenuating circumstances. Most cite illness as a valid reason for a fine to be waived and some colleges take examinations into account. David Smith, Librarian at St. Anne’s College said, “People actually taking exams when books fall due are exempt from fines.”
James Smith of OULS pointed out that around 60% of library users are taking exams every Trinity so “we can’t treat them all as special cases.” He pointed out that some libraries offer extended loans during exam periods. 74% of students surveyed by Cherwell don’t think students should be allowed to return books late during exams, many pointing out that examination periods are a crucial time for everyone to have access to books.
