By Emily Neelon |
Every night the Clark Library swells with students. After its $12.5 million renovation, the library features innovative study spaces, classrooms and technology for student use. With all that it has to offer, the library is a popular space for Pilots to both study and relax after a long day. But its limited hours have become an issue for many students. After a promise of 24-hour access, the library’s hours have been reinstated to the original hours before the renovation: 7:30 a.m.. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
“We didn’t plan to have it open in the sense of it being staffed 24 hours, but we did plan to have students and faculty being able to access the library after we closed,” said Drew Harrington, dean of the library.
A few weeks before the reopening of the library, University President Fr. Bill Beauchamp made the decision to reduce the library hours. When he addressed The Beacon Editorial Board Aug. 22, he said he didn't see a need for the library to be open 24 hours and that it might encourage unhealthy schedules for students, but that library hours would be reevaluated if needed.
“At that time, Father Beauchamp indicated that he was not comfortable doing that, and he wanted to continue monitoring usage, so he asked us to keep our old hours,” Harrington said. “I was disappointed. I thought it was an unfortunate choice, but I respect the fact that that was his choice”.
Harrington has received little feedback about the change, but ASUP received multiple complaints from students.
"Students were certainly shocked when the library was not open for 24 hours,” ASUP President Quin Chadwick said. “Every single person on my executive board has had students complain about it or at least voice their opinion.”
Some students have found it difficult to find an alternate study space once the library has closed.
“The only other place to (study) would be my dorm in my room” sophomore Anna Stucki said. “It’s not ideal”.
Chadwick believes this issue especially affects commuter students.
"They don't have enough time to study in the sense that they don't have enough time in a dedicated location,” Chadwick said. “Many students, especially off campus, use the library as their source of study space”.
A common complaint from students is with the extensive renovations done to the library, students should be granted more access.
“I definitely think they have to extend the hours, especially with the amount of money they put into it,” sophomore Andrew Jacobs said.
For some other students, the library’s current hours meet their needs.
“There has not been a single time when I’ve needed to use the library past midnight,” freshman Joe Dummer said.
However, Chadwick, Dummer, Jacobs and Stucki unanimously agreed on one thing: the library’s hours must be extended during finals.
“It would actually be nice if the library was open 24/7 during finals,” Jacobs said.
According to Harrington, the hours will be extended during finals.
ASUP is working with Harrington and Provost Thomas Greene to release a survey to gather student feedback on the library hours.
“It certainly is the main focus of ASUP’s mind right now,” Chadwick said.
