I am writing this letter to address the current fee policies regarding reserve books checked out from Morris Library. On September 25, 2007, I checked out a reserve book entitled “The Working Poor,” by David K. Shipler. I was using the reserve service because I was waiting for my own copy of the text to arrive in the mail. I checked the book out around 3:00 PM, and received a receipt for the transaction, which outlined the time when the book was due. I needed to read approximately 80 pages of the text for my next class, so I began reading the book in the library and kept careful track of my time. For some reason I had the time 5:36 PM stuck in my mind for when the book was due. At 5:32 PM, I decided to return the book to the reserve desk so that I would not risk turning the book in late. I glanced at the receipt as I walked to the reserve desk and realized that the actual due time was 5:28 PM, 4 minutes before the current time. I handed the book to the student worker who informed that I had a fine. I asked how much the fine would cost, thinking that it would be $0.50 or perhaps $1.00, which I would have gladly paid. I was startled and quite frankly amused when the worker told me that I owed $50.00 for 4 minutes of overdue time.

The current fee policy regarding overdue reserve items at Morris Library is outrageous and appalling. To levy a $50.00 fine on hard working students for an hour or less of overdue time is disgraceful to Morris Library and to the entire university. In addition, this policy at SIUC is completely inconsistent with other universities, including the University of Illinois – Champaign, Yale University, University of Florida, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The fines for overdue reserve items at these institutions range from $1.00/hr to $3.00/hr. To support a policy that charges 17 to 50 times as much as similar institutions is reprehensible. I should also mention that the book I was reading, “The Working Poor,” chronicles the lives of many Americans who work 40 to 60 hours a week at low wages in order to support their families. In disgust, I read about the many exorbitant fines and fees that quick-cash lenders, financial institutions, and legal advisors charge to the hard working members of society who happen to fall below “acceptable” levels of economic stratification. As Morris Library fined me $50.00 for 4 minutes, I couldn’t help but think about the working poor, and imagine how you will use my $50.00 fine that provided me no product, no service, and cost you nothing in return. Perhaps you will fund the 29 million dollar renovation project that has confined me to the first floor of Morris Library for the entire duration of my graduate studies at SIUC. I appreciate progress, and I applaud the vision of this university to become a nationally respected top-tier institution, but I do not believe this progress should come at the expense of its students via exorbitant fines. I propose a solution to you, Dean of Library Affairs, and to you, Chancellor. I will gladly donate 5 copies of “The Working Poor,” by David K. Shipler to Morris Library. I purchased the book online for $10.00, so this will settle my debt to Morris Library, and provide my fellow students with greater access to this important text. I appreciate your time and I eagerly await your reply in this matter.

Again, please please please let me know what you think about this letter and how I can improve it before I mail it to the dean and chancellor. I have thought about including a list of universities and their reserve fines on a second page. It would likely have between 30 to 50 universities and their current policies, to show how absurd this policy really is. Let me know what you think!