Students used to picking up a print edition of The New York Times on campus will now have to go online to keep current with the news.

The New York Times readership program on SVSU’s campus began in 2002, with 225 copies delivered to campus daily.

According to associate provost David Callejo Perez, increasing rates for print versions of the newspaper was a major reason for the program’s end.

Last year, the cost for having The New York Times on campus Monday through Friday was $15,436.80 for 24 weeks. To have print editions on campus this year would have cost closer to $20,000.

“We thought it’d be fiscally irresponsible for us to spend this amount on a newspaper when that money could be used elsewhere in terms of student needs,” Callejo Perez said.

Criminal justice senior Emily Nelson used to regularly pick up a newspaper on campus.

“Being able to pick up a globally respected newspaper, free of charge, and review the day’s events was one of my favorite perks of being an SVSU student,” she said. “I’m a bit old-fashioned, so I prefer the actual ink-and-paper version of the publication.”

The New York Times is still available online through three databases at the Melvin J. Zahnow Library.

“It’s here when students need it,” said Anita Dey, interim library director. “That’s what libraries do – we try to make things like this affordable for people.”

MeL (Michigan Electronic Library) offers online access to New York Times articles from 1985 to the issue of the previous day. The WestLaw legal database provides access to articles from 1980 to the issue of the current day.

For students looking to go further back in time, the ProQuest Historical NYT database offers access to articles from 1851 to 2010.

To access these databases, select “News/Newspapers” in the list of databases options on the library’s website.

“The decision may be understandable from an economic standpoint, but even though I respect that, it doesn’t lessen the fact that I am still disappointed in the change,” Nelson said. “It’s great we have access to the NYT online, but it’s not the same. I don’t sit down and read the newspaper on my laptop or phone.”

In addition to online access, the library receives one daily print issue of the New York Times available for community members to peruse. Thirty days of back issues are kept.

On the second floor of the library, microfilm images of The New York Times from the years 1938 and 1940 to 2011 are available.

Dey emphasized that there are options for students looking for reference material, including the research desk and interlibrary loan.

The university worked for about a month before the semester began to consider options and determine the demand for the newspaper on campus.

“We tried to gauge need on campus, and the library can meet the need for the newspaper,” Callejo Perez said. “If somebody needs The New York Times, we’ve got it covered.”

“The New York Times is what people call one of the country’s newspapers of record,” Dey said. “I don’t see our subscriptions ever going anywhere.”