Fix the card machines at Green and Meyer

Last week when I wanted to add money to my card to print a document for a class later that morning, the machine to deposit money onto an SUID card at Meyer Library was unable to read my card. I asked Meyer Staff, and they told me that they had been hearing about that problem for awhile now. My only option was to use a one dollar bill to purchase a printing card; I only had a $20. I then walked to Green Library where, to my dismay, the card machine there was broken. I know for a fact that this machine had been out of service for at least one full week prior to this date because I tried to use it last Tuesday.

I then asked the librarian behind the reserve desk if I could please get change for a $20 so that I could go back and use the machine at Meyer but he refused, saying it is not their policy to give change, despite the fact that the only reason I needed change was to utilize the libraries’ broken card machines. Is it also their policy to not fix broken card machines in Green and Meyer Library? I was able to go to the Lair at Tresidder to finally be able to add the money to my card account and print my document, but that is not the point. In both Meyer and Green library, the staff has known for a while that their machines are broken. Students should be able to count on more than a one-for-three success ratio at the campus card machines. These machines need to be fixed and it is unacceptable that the card machines in both Meyer and Green library have been broken for a period of time — the Green library machine has been down at least a week! It is too bad that fixing machines that students rely on is so unimportant to library and university staff.

Andrew Gay

Class of 2008