With quizzes and exams starting to appear on students’ radars, they might be looking for a place to study in the late hours of the night.
Starting the Monday after fall break, Oct. 14, the library will be open until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday for students looking for a quiet place to work. Previously, the library was only open until midnight. The library will still close at 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“We have been hearing that students are having trouble finding places to study,” said Sara Bushong. dean of the University Library. “We heard that the common areas in the residence halls are too full for students to study.”
The Undergraduate Student Government came during the summer to talk about extending the hours, Bushong said.
Bushong then had a student look and analyze the data they had from their gate counts, which count the number of times the door to exit the library is opened.
“The gate count indicates a lot of people leave at midnight when we close,” she said. “So we think there is a need to extend the hours.”
Bushong said students are working hard on campus and need a place to study during late hours.
“Not a lot of buildings are open to study or meet with a group,” she said. “Students are busy and doing things late at night so they don’t get the time until like 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.”
Mary Beth Zachary, head of Access Services at the library, is in charge of staffing and predicts the checkout desk won’t be busy after midnight.
“We will have one graduate student and probably one student working,” Zachary said. “There will be one person working at ITS, so we will have three staff people in the library.”
However, security is a concern, she said.
“It’s always an issue; not so much with the stuff but more with people,” Zachary said. “We have [three] people in charge of a 10-story building. But I don’t think anything will happen, and campus police have always been very responsive in the past as well.”
Zachary fully supports the hour changes.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “Graduate students are fully supportive.”
Senior Hannah Bealer is a student supervisor for the library and likes the change.
“I think it’s good as a worker,” Bealer said. “I stay up late anyway so why not work and clock in some hours? It’s more quiet there anyway so I can work and get paid.”
From more of a student’s perspective, it’s good because it accommodates everyone’s schedules, Bealer said.
“That’s why we are here,” Zachary said. “We are here to help the students succeed. If we aren’t doing that then we aren’t doing our job.”
