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30 NOVEMBER 2009 - Issue 184 www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
INSIDE THE LAST ISSUE OF 2009: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE FUTUREHEADS, ELLIOT MINOR,
THE AUTOMATIC AND MR HUDSON!!!
STUDENTS HIT
BY £75,000 LIBRARY FINE Kimberley de Selincourt News Reporter
A FREEDOM of information act obtained by the Student’s Union General Secretary Luke James has revealed that late library fines are costing students over £75,000 a year. With 24 hour renewals possible online and by telephone, and self return and issue desks situated in the library, The Waterfront asks how, since 2005 alone, Swansea university students have accumulated £323,925 in library fees - and where is this money being used? A spokesperson for Library and Information Services at the University, Sue Miller told us the money was used “either towards buying extra copies of books when we are very short, or to pay overtime for staff when we have staff sickness” and for “basic running costs.” Money received through fines is added to funds from an allocated budget and grants from other bodies, and this combined sum then finances refurbishment and running costs. Therefore, even an approximate amount spent on books is hard to ascertain. Education Officer Ross Gilman stated: “Though it looks a lot, it’s a small amount in comparison to what they spend on other things. Using money from fines they’ve reduced costs of printing and photocopying over the last couple of years, and are working on getting more reference copies of key texts, as well as more computers.” Another expense is the amount of electricity needed in the library, which is set to increase as the library moves into 24 hour opening for the exam period, especially until the airconditioning is fixed. Automated e-mail reminders are now sent to all students and staff just before an item is due for return, yet Luke James believes, “although the amount of money taken in library late fees has dropped steadily, it is still a huge sum.” While this has helped reduce late fees,
if a book is lost, the student is subject to a standard replacement cost of up to £45. Speaking to Sue Miller of the LIS, the Waterfront was told: “Some people will report a book missing when it gets recalled and then at the end of term when it’s no longer important, they’ll find it again.” One student unlikely to be doing this is Lauren Howells who, after being a victim of burglary, was told she had also incurred the fine, despite providing a police claim number. “I refused to
pay the £45 as I haven’t had my claim back yet and I had the letter from the locksmith showing my home was broken into for proof!” Miller’s response to this situation was that “some people think that once they get a crime report that’s it, end of story – but unfortunately we still have to replace the book, and we have to recoup that cost from the student.” While to some, this may seem unsympathetic, Miller continued to explain: “If a student contacts us right away once the book is lost or stolen, we can check the
suppliers’ website and charge less if the book is less than £45. We can also make a note on their record, so they have several weeks to pay, we make a receipt for the insurance company, and allow time for them to get back to us.” Final year student Phillip Cooper was pleased with the understanding nature of issue desk staff, his excessive £186 fines reduced to £84, to cover just the replacement charge for the two books and waiving the late fees accumulated before Cooper reported the books lost.
However, an issue he did take was against the apparent disorganisation within the system. “I paid the fine and went to take books out and was told that I still had fines and couldn’t use my card – I needed the books for my course and made them phone the finance department who then realised they’d forgotten to take the fine off the system.” Ross Gilman agreed that the library may benefit from more centralisation. Continued page 2