The library will fund a one-year digital New York Times subscription for all students, faculty and staff after the Iowa State Student Government opted to discontinue the digital New York Times subscription in November.

At a price of $35,000, Student Government initially footed the bill last year, but senators under the current administration deemed it would be best to cancel the subscription after concerns regarding student usage and promotion. 

According to data provided by the New York Times to Student Government, 2,322 students utilized the subscription over the past year resulting in a total of 126,996 interactions. 

Curtis Brundy, associate university librarian for scholarly communications and collections, told Inside Iowa State that the digital subscription will be paid out of the library’s acquisition budget and will be no more than $35,000.

Brundy was in attendance of the New York Times digital subscription debate on Nov. 1—where senators voted 17-12 against the renewal—and offered clarification at points to the newspaper resources the library already funds, such as limited New York Times and Wall Street Journal coverage. 

With the library picking up the tab for the New York Times digital subscription bill, students, faculty and staff will be able to continue to use the newspaper’s app and website. 

Student Government told Inside Iowa State that there may be a possibility of the Wall Street Journal being added as a resource for students, too, as the newspaper offered a one-year campuswide subscription for free. The contract has not been finalized.