Our library fee system is in definite need of a change in almost any form. The current format, an opt-out “voluntary” donation of $50, is far and away the most dishonest way that we could fund our library. And any alternative, including recently proposed $25 mandatory fee, is a good one.
The opt-out system is a dirty trick on students. The Hatchet quoted former University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who created the opt-out library fee, in a Jan. 12 blog post as saying that the system was designed to “demonstrate to potential benefactors that the students were serious about wanting the library to be better than it was.” But our current system does less to demonstrate the seriousness of students toward the issue of library improvement and more to demonstrate how many GW students per semester are able to remember to get GW to refund their library gift.
The library suffers from chronic problems with meeting space, technology and facilities. In addition to these problems, library administrators have to struggle with never knowing what their funding for the next semester is going to be. Eliminating the guessing game from library funding will allow administrators to focus on the more pressing issues facing students. The new fee system may even be able to provide some instant benefits to students, such as limited free printing, in addition to the longer-term benefits that a stable funding source would provide.
Of course, there are some students who know that the library fee is voluntary, know they don’t have to pay and still choose to do so. Under this plan those students, as well as students who had no idea that not paying was even an option, will be paying less. Having all students help pay for a library at their school is not a ridiculous idea, especially when every other student building on this campus does not depend on voluntary donations for funding.
The voluntary library fee was a bad idea from the beginning. All students should jump at the chance to allow the library to be funded like almost every other facility, through the set amount of money we pay to the University every semester. This library reform essentially mandates that process, earmarking $25 for the library. In that way it is a solid improvement over our current system.
There are many ways to pay for a library. Having an opt-out voluntary donation which relies on the good nature of some students and the ignorance or laziness of others is undoubtedly the worst. As such, we should support just about any measure that improves on this fee system. With a mandatory library fee, the library can finally be treated like every other building or facility managed by the University and hopefully run more efficiently.
The writer, a sophomore majoring in political science, is a Student Association senator (CCAS-U).
