Effective last winter session, Schauerman Library began charging students for materials not returned by due dates, from both the general collection and the library reserve.

 The new fine for overdue materials is 25 cents per hour for items on reserve and 25 cents per day for books from the general collection.

The fines are kept on record in the library until totaling $10. 

At and above this amount, the library sends the fines for collection by the Cashier’s Office and a student is no longer permitted to check out library materials until the fines are paid and a receipt is brought back to the library.  

The fines was proposed by Ed Martinez, public access librarian, to discourage students from abusing the library system by not returning checked out books before
or at the time they are due.

“Students who do not return the
items on time create unfair access to other students,” Martinez said.

Some students have reacted positively to the new measure and are happy that something is being done to help distribute library resources effectively.

“I think it’s a fair fee because it prevents students from keeping books longer than they should,” Lorena Gutierrez, 20, linguistics major, said.

David Shan, professor of Chinese and Japanese studies, said that this is a way to not let students take the books for long periods of time because other students waiting for a book are affected.”