Student Association Executive Vice President Kyle Boyer sent a proposal to University President Steven Knapp on Monday, which proposed cutting the voluntary $50 library fee in half and making it mandatory for all students.

Boyer said three main problems exist with voluntary donations, the largest of which is an uncertain budget for the library to operate on.

“It is clear that uncertainty of potential donations creates significant budgeting constraints for the Gelman Library system,” said Boyer in the library plan.

Two other problems a voluntary donation brings are added administrative work when students want to opt out of paying the fee, and a lack of funding which could go towards student-focused initiatives, Boyer said. 

Boyer said that if the fee were to become mandatory, part of the funds would go toward a certain amount of free printing privileges per student. 

The voluntary library fee was started during former University President Steven Joel Trachtenberg’s administration.

Trachtenberg said the voluntary library fee was created in order to lure in private donors.

“We felt that tuition was high, we didn’t want to take the tuition up any more than we had at the time, but there was a lot of concern on the part of the students and faculty and the administration at the time that the library desperately needed to be enhanced,” said Trachtenberg.

In order to enhance the library, Trachtenberg said the administration created the voluntary library fee, which would, “demonstrate to potential benefactors that the students were serious about wanting the library to be better than it was.”

Trachtenberg added that the fee is important for funding library events, mainly for undergraduate students, “specifically things kids talk about during the year.”

He added that the fee is especially important for Jack Siggins, the head librarian, to address student concerns.

“If students bring something to his attention that they feel is not being satisfactorily addressed, next year in the budget he anticipates what he thinks he is going to get from the voluntary fee and he focuses on solving that problem,” said Trachtenberg.

Check back on Thursday for the full story.