Falcons have flocked to the library in preparation of finals week.

Students are utilizing the quiet space, tutoring and stress relief programs offered by the Jerome Library.

Drop-in tutoring, therapy dogs, coffee and snacks are provided to help students ace their exams.

Sarah Bushong, Dean of University Libraries, said that on average about 825 students use the library on any given Sunday.

This past Sunday before finals week began, the library hosted 2,411 students between noon and 2 a.m.

“This to me says that students are serious about doing their best in order to end the semester with a strong academic focus,” Bushong said.

The library is assisting students with finals week prep by extending their regular availability to 24 hours a day, five days a week, the week before and the week of finals week.

The library’s extended hours were implemented after Undergraduate Student Government members did some research in the fall of 2013.

Bushong said that USG president Alex Solis and vice president David Neely visited a peer Mid-American Conference school, Eastern Michigan University.

“EMU was doing something like this the week before finals week, having the library open 24 hours for five days a week,” she said. “They were asking if we’d be willing to try that.”

Bushong said that after implementing the extended hours, she was concerned that the library staff, made up of many graduate student advisors, might get overwhelmed and not be able to study.

A security guard was provided between 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. so staff didn’t have to work.

The extended hours have allowed many students to catch up on their studying, but some wonder why the library isn’t open 24 hours year round.

“We have to be careful with the budget,” Bushong said. “They didn’t want to do 24 hours the whole semester because that would be a financial burden,”

Bushong said the beneficial extended hours are crucial for students and their preferred studying environments.

“Many students start studying at 10 p.m. and midnight is too soon to stop. We tried to create areas that are conclusive to different kinds of studying,” she said.

“The eighth floor is quiet and the seventh floor is open to group studying.”

Bushong said the library also offers reserved rooms on the first floor for students who need a quiet space.

Students can reserve these rooms by using the website Jerome.youcanbook.me.

Meredith Tesone, business finance major, studies in the reserved study rooms before her exams.

“I always come to the Learning Commons. I’ve been going the past month or two,” she said.

Tesone said she has come the library more often than she did her freshman year.

“This year I understood I needed to come here more and prepare,” she said.

Freshman Andrew Lucke said he has used the library services a lot more than he thought he would.

“Students should use everything the library has to offer and as much as they can because it is really beneficial,” Lucke said.

Whether it’s for a drop-in study session at the Learning Commons, a quick course review and some free snacks, or a quiet place to focus, many students utilize the library and the numerous services it offers in hopes of acing final exams.