Parks Library held an open forum Tuesday night for students to learn more about the new proposed library fee.

Dean of the Library Olivia Madison and members of the University Library Committee were on hand at Tuesday night’s meeting to discuss the proposed fees and to answer questions from students.

Madison said the committee had explored different options to improve the financial base of the library. The decision to implement a library fee was decided to keep up with the increasing costs that come with running the library.

Madison said in order for the possible fee to have a chance at passing, student support would be key. Without that support, she said faculty, administrators, governing bodies and especially the Board of Regents would not consider the fee.

“If student support isn’t there, they would not support the fee,” she said.

The survey, which will be sent out at the beginning of March to a randomly selected 25 percent of the student body, will be key in measuring student support.

“The student survey is pivotal to that process,” she said.

David Hopper, professor in veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine and chairman of the University Library Committee, explained that Iowa State had dropped in the Association of Research Libraries index, dropping nine spots from 2004 to 2005.

The index measures member research libraries based on five quantitative statistics: number of volumes, number of volumes increased, number of serial (journal) subscriptions, total expenditures and the total number of staff.

Hopper said this scale is what Iowa State uses when comparing itself to other libraries.

The drop Iowa State has experienced is directly related to the loss of resources, Hopper said.

Bradley Anderson, junior in sociology, expressed concern about the possibility of the fee raising over time.

Jeremy Schweitzer, human service specialist in human development and family studies, assured the fee would not increase beyond the Higher Education Price Index rate of inflation. Madison added that any increase would have to be approved by the library fee committee.

Tyler Rasmussen, senior in mechanical engineering, said there shouldn’t only be an emphasis put on the ARL index because the number of books does not determine how good a library is. He said student needs should be met before worrying about the rankings.

Madison said there has been discussion about changing the criteria of the ARL index.

Schweitzer explained that the rankings aren’t the only thing Iowa State looks at.

There will be another open forum from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday in Room 31 of Parks Library.