PETITION AGAINST NEW CIRCULATION POLICIES OF THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SYSTEM This petition concerns the recently updated circulation policy of the Boston University Library System. It is currently summarized at http://www.bu.edu/library/mugar-memorial/services/circulation/. As of recently, BU Undergraduates, Graduate Students, Alumni, and Consortium Card Holders were re-assigned to the same category of borrowing privileges. This petition wishes to challenge the collapse of very different student statuses and goals into a monolithic category of borrowing privileges. We request that BU library system rescind the recently-established policies affecting the borrowing privileges of the BU graduate student population. As of recently, all members of this circulation privilege level can borrow books for 28 days, renew for a limited number of times (2-5 cycles), recall interims are 1 week, and overdue books are charged at a rate of $2 per day and are not renewable online after the due date has passed. (See footnote #1.) This policy shift presents many obstacles to the various research trajectories of the Boston University graduate student population. It is problematic for (but not limited to) for many reasons outlined below. PROBLEMS: 1. A four-week borrowing cycle is insufficient for the demand of long-term comprehensive exam preparation and dissertation authorship. It is logical that graduate students be granted longer borrowing duration than undergraduates. 2. The current system does not notify us adequately of overdue books nor allow us to easily renew or fix the problem. A proper notification system is imperative to inform us of overdue texts. Currently students discover this problem when they are attempting to check out new texts or when the books are already overdue and incurring fines. 3. Online renewals should be granted more flexibility for graduates students because many of us work off-premises. Renewals should also be allowed without penalty for a reasonable period after the due date of the book, and a fee of $2 per day is not reasonable given the short borrowing duration and the inadequate overdue items notification system. This entire system shift costs us more, because we are forced to consider buying the books we will need for longer duration, and we are also incurring late fees for books we require. This is not fiscally feasible for most of us. 4. A limitation of 2-5 (STH and Mugar Libraries, respectively) renewals is inadequate for long-term research and study agendas. We depend on the BU library for the acquisition of specialist and costly texts, which are often not in extremely high demand from other students. The recall system avails rare texts to those who request them, so the shorter borrowing duration and limits on renewal opportunities and procedures are not coherent. 5. Graduate students who rent a library carrell are able to circumvent the restrictions of this new policy by collecting and storing books without checking them out. But access to these carrells is not feasible for the entire population due to a variety of reasons, from off-premises student research to the limited number of carrells available for rent. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS: 1. Borrowing privileges for graduate students must be restored to former status. We need longer borrowing duration than undergraduates. We have very different needs and research trajectories and these needs do not conform to the rhythms of the academic calendar. 2. Considering that many BU graduates work for the university as Research and Teaching Assistants, it is reasonable that we should be granted equal borrowing privileges as BU Staff. 3. In principle, all graduate students should be supported equally, but this petition acknowledges the outstanding demand for texts that are held in particular by doctoral students. At the very least, PhD students should be re-granted extended borrowing times, or perhaps only PhD students at a certain point in their careers can be granted more borrowing privilege, such as those of us studying for comprehensive exams or dissertation research. 4. Sufficient notification must be granted to the BU graduate student population at the time of such drastic policy changes. Many of us have encountered these policy shifts independently in cases of great inconvenience to our scholarly undertakings. We need to be noticed, in advance, of: * Library policy changes directly affecting us * Upcoming due dates * Unusual or restricted borrowing durations (for example, one-day rentals that are not pre-marked as Reference copies) SUMMARY: While we understand the BU library system’s need to confront various circulation challenges, it is not reasonable that an institution at the center of our student careers should compromise our research with draconian borrowing policies, or by collapsing the entire BU student population into the same privilege category. It is not reasonable or fair. We BU graduate students respectfully request that the new policy is reversed until a reasonably supportive and mutually agreeable solution can be reached by BU library officials in conversation with the BU Graduate Student Organization. Authored by the students of BU’s Division of Religious and Theological Studies. Footnote: 1. To provide perspective on two populations deemed separate from undergrads/grads/alumni/consortium members, BU Faculty may borrow for 365 days, and BU Staff may borrow for 4.5 months (133 days).