We previously expressed our support for a proposed library fee in a January [editorial](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/1/27/student-fees-done-right/). We think a relatively cheap student fee is the perfect solution to the budget shortfalls facing what is perhaps our most important unit of the university infrastructure: Ellis Library.
The library proposed the fee to the Missouri Students Association, which said it would only support the fee if it could be made as pro-student interest as [possible](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/1/27/new-ellis-lbrary-amenities-possible-proposed-stude/). The Graduate Professional Council formed a [committee](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/3/16/msa-gpc-form-committee-discuss-possible-library-st/) in March to meet with library staff to discuss the details, which they did April 16.
Yet it seems as if the initiative has moved forward very little, and the details of what the proposed fee would be used for can’t be agreed upon.
Graduate and undergraduate students at the meeting disagreed about what library services were most important, revealing the proposal could potentially go nowhere if certain stipulations, such as increased study space or an increased amount of recreational reading materials, weren’t agreed upon.
MSA, GPC and the library administration have to agree to disagree and settle on a compromise, or better yet, actively seek feedback from students. This fee proposal is far too much of a good idea to let die due to disagreements and lack of awareness from the student body.
Most students are unaware of the services the library provides and the cost of providing them. Members of the organizations involved and in support of the library fee need to begin campaigning to convince students of its importance.
If students are more educated about why the fee is necessary and what it could potentially be used for, they can give accurate feedback that will easily settle the undecided details. Meetings to discuss the best interests of students are pointless when the interests of students aren’t known.
The 2011 library survey was a decent attempt at gauging student use of the library, but the questions were far too general to give useful information with which to set up the library fee. Though 63.47 percent of the respondents were in favor of extending the library’s hours year-round, only 16.72 percent were in favor if that extension required an increase in student fees.
That’s obviously because the survey didn’t mention the student fees, as presently proposed, would likely cost no more than $1 per credit hour.
A revamped survey should be sent out to gauge student interest in a library fee and allow students to provide their opinions as to how to implement it. Ask students specific questions concerning whether to charge a flat rate or charge by credit hour, whether study space or recreational reading is more important, what areas of the library could be improved, etc. Then, organize meetings to discuss the findings.
You can’t be productive without any real answers, and this is a time for productivity. Any shortcoming in the resources provided by Ellis is a serious shortcoming in our capacity to achieve academic success.
