The Missouri Students Association will entertain a proposal from the library for an increase in student fees to pay for more library features. The library will present the proposal in early February.

The money from the fee would supplement the current library budget and would open up the possibility for increased services, such as 24-hour access to parts of the library, renovations for the main foyer and a wider selection of ‘for pleasure’ books.

MU Libraries Director Jim Cogswell is estimating the cost of the fee would be anywhere from 50 cents to $1 per credit hour.

Cogswell said the library gets revenue from three main sources: campus appropriations, IT fees and donations. He expressed interest in student requests for more library services.

“We want to respond to that, but we have had those three principle revenue sources up until now and we are seeking a fourth revenue stream specifically for student library needs,” he said.

The library’s operating budget for the 2011 fiscal year was $13.9 million. Cogswell estimated it would cost at least an additional $100,000 to create a space for 24-hour late-night study access.

In the meantime, the library has been able to scrape together funds from lapsed salaries to extend library hours. Ellis Library used to close at midnight, but now remains open until 2 a.m.

The extended hours cost the library about $25,000 a year, and Cogswell said the library does not have the funds to maintain them in the long-term.

The proposal would go the through MSA Senate’s Academic Affairs committee, which is considering the student response to a fee increase.

“We don’t necessarily support a student fee,” Academic Affairs Chairman Ben Levin said. “We aren’t necessarily in favor of it right now. All we’re doing is working with him on it and trying to make sure that, once a proposal is made, it is as pro-student interest as possible.”

In an MSA survey given to students at the end of the spring 2011 semester, 16 percent of respondents said they were in favor of extending Ellis Library’s hours year-round.

When asked if they were in favor of extending hours if it required an increase in student fees, 83 percent of respondents said no. 526 students took the survey.

Levin said he was in favor of a library with more services, but not if it required a hefty fee.

“We’re going to work on it and give it a shot,” he said.

MSA Senator Will Thompson was interested in the possibility of more fiction books being added to the collection.

“Ellis just gives off an only for class feel,” he said.

Thompson said he thinks that could be remedied with more non-curriculum material. Thompson, a member of the Academic Affairs committee, said he recently started using the library more after changing his major from biology to history and philosophy.

Of the increased hours, he said that having a place to go to late on campus would be convenient for the students. He stressed the importance of keeping student fees low.

“I like the idea of it as long as it’s not too expensive,” he said.

This proposal is not the first time the library has asked MSA for a student fee.

“We’ve been talking with the leadership of MSA for the last five years about the possibility of a library student fee,” Cogswell said.