Hard-up Scots students stump up whopping £3.8m in library fines CASH-strapped students in Scotland have paid more than £3.8 million in fines after failing to return library books on time, new figures have revealed. Edinburgh University topped the league of shame with charges of £592,000 issued from 2007 to January this year. That included one student who racked up fines of £1,050. The figures, provided under the Freedom of Information Act, show students at Glasgow's Strathclyde University were second worst, after running up £576,300 of library fines. More than 500,000 books were never returned. Overdue fines have cost some students their degrees and left others having to wait to graduate. At least 1,800 students were told they had to pay off library fines before they could graduate. The University of the West of Scotland, which has campuses at Ayr, Dumfries, Hamilton and Paisley, said 214 students had not graduated for failing to pay up. Eben Wilson, director of Taxpayer Scotland, which campaigns for lower taxes, said students should take a more responsible attitude to returning textbooks, at a time when fees have become such a contentious issue. "Students need to take a bit more care of the money being provided to them by Scottish taxpayers before they ask for more," she said. Racking up thousands of pounds on fines due to their own tardiness isn't helping themselves or their universities in times of austerity. In fact, it's likely that the money wasted in fines will not be recoverable, and in the end it will be paid by other more disciplined students in lower bursaries and higher costs for their universities. Liz Smith, MSP, Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman, added: "The loss of revenue from so many unpaid fines puts into sharp focus how much extra money could be in the system if people acted responsibly." Although library fines are not large they are intended to provide an incentive to return books and borrowers should always be public-spirited and adhere to them. A spokesman for the University of Edinburgh said: "We feel that our fines are fair and set at a level that encourages students to return books on time for the benefit of all library users. We always send notices to warn students books are overdue prior to charges being incurred. The FoI request also revealed Glasgow Caledonian University students racked up £524,000 in fines, while those at Glasgow University face a £496,700 bill. Aberdeen University collected £482,500, but Robert Gordon University, in the same city, took only £71,545 in fines since 2008. The National Unions of Students in Scotland declined to comment. THE library books most frequently stolen from Scottish universities over the past five years include: University of Edinburgh: Positive Teaching in the Primary School by Frank Merret, which was targeted by future teachers. University of the West of Scotland: Taxation: Finance Act 2009 by Alan Melville. Strategic Management, Awareness and Change, by John Thompson Industrial Organisation: competitive, strategy, policy by John Lipczynski.