Edge Hill University which raked in £62,206 from the 2007/08 academic year also stressed fees were "fully re-invested on learning resources for Edge Hill students." Its highest tariff is 50p per day for one week and overnight loan items – up to a maximum of £5 per item.
A spokeswoman said the fees were "fair and in line, if not lower, than other university libraries."
Elsewhere, Liverpool Hope University has collected library fines of £19,355.70 for the current academic year.
Its fines policy includes charging 20p every 15 minutes for short loan items – up to a £5 maximum – with all money reinvested into library resources.
A spokeswoman stressed the fines were "not intended to be punitive, but to ensure the prompt return of items".
The lion’s share of library users at the university are the 6,765 students, but 743 staff and 235 other members also make use of the facilities.
Last night Paul Athans, a politics student at Liverpool University said some books were so popular some students were "stashing titles" so they could have exclusive access to them without having to taking them away.
He added: "There could be more books to go around. But, to be fair, the university is addressing this by putting more and more online. Students do need to take more responsibility."
