University Library Fines version v1.xlsx (78.56 kB)
League table of UK Universities based on how much money was received in payment of library fines during academic year 2015/2016
Version 5 2017-05-18, 07:57
Version 4 2017-04-20, 10:49
Version 3 2017-04-19, 12:35
Version 2 2017-03-23, 09:47
Version 1 2017-03-21, 13:29
dataset
posted on 2017-03-21, 13:29 authored by Daniel PayneDaniel PayneMost university libraries in the UK charge their users fines for overdue and/or recalled library items. To find out how much money each university received in the academic year 2015/16, freedom of information (FOI) requests were sent to 148 UK universities. These FOI requests were made during February/March of 2017 using the website "www.whatdotheyknow.com".
The results are collated in this spreadsheet,which includes links to the URLs that contain the full FOI correspondence in each case. Some institutions were also able to provide a breakdown of payment by country of origin (e.g. France, Italy) as well as type of user (e.g. undergraduate/postgraduate). Those institutions that were able to provide this information are indicated in the spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is organised in descending order, with those institutions receiving the most amount of money at the top of the spreadsheet, with those receiving the least amount of money at the bottom.
The total amount of money received from all institutions asked is £4,254,094.76
The text of the FOI request made in each case is as follows:
"I am writing to ask about library fines during the academic year 2015/2016. For the time period starting from the first day of term, covering the next 364 days (e.g. one full year), please provide:
1. The total amount of money the library received from the payment of overdue items. Exclude costs of replacing lost books - this request solely relates to the cost of books that are returned later than their due date.
The results are collated in this spreadsheet,which includes links to the URLs that contain the full FOI correspondence in each case. Some institutions were also able to provide a breakdown of payment by country of origin (e.g. France, Italy) as well as type of user (e.g. undergraduate/postgraduate). Those institutions that were able to provide this information are indicated in the spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is organised in descending order, with those institutions receiving the most amount of money at the top of the spreadsheet, with those receiving the least amount of money at the bottom.
The total amount of money received from all institutions asked is £4,254,094.76
The text of the FOI request made in each case is as follows:
"I am writing to ask about library fines during the academic year 2015/2016. For the time period starting from the first day of term, covering the next 364 days (e.g. one full year), please provide:
1. The total amount of money the library received from the payment of overdue items. Exclude costs of replacing lost books - this request solely relates to the cost of books that are returned later than their due date.
2. Information about where this money then goes (is it absorbed into a specific library budget for example? If so what one?)
3. If possible, from the figure provided in 1, break this down by
a) category of user paying fine (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate, staff)
b) country of origin of user paying fine (e.g. France, Italy, US). If only broader categories are possible e.g. "EU", "non-EU" then please provide this instead. "
Each response includes a link to the full and original FOI result. Any errors in transcription are accidental; please get in touch if you spot any.
