Student Senate is set to vote on a resolution for “Recognizing the Need for Continued Efforts to Optimize 24/7 Access to Study Spaces and Libraries on Campus.”
The vote will take place at its meeting tonight even as there is no 24/7 library on campus to optimize.
At the last Senate meeting, Student Body President Ian Green said he had been working with the Dean of University Libraries Judith Russell to potentially make changes to Library West’s overnight hours. They discussed extending the hours to 2 a.m.
But the hours will not be extended, said Patrick Reakes, Senior Associate Dean, Scholarly Resources and Services of George A. Smathers Libraries.
Starting this Fall, hours for Library West will be 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Reakes said. On weekends, it will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday.
Extending the weekday closing time would require the creation of another part-time position, Reakes said.
“And we were like, ‘With the cost of doing that, hell, we might as well do 24 hours,’” Reakes said.
Student positions and two temporary full-time positions were already cut because Library West will no longer be 24/7, Reakes said.
Funding for the libraries comes from state appropriations, Reakes said. That money then passes through the Office of the Provost.
But overnight hours are funded differently.
Historically, Student Government covered the cost of funding a library overnight, Reakes said. Last year, the Office of the Provost covered the bill while studies on usage were conducted.
When the provost took on funding the overnight hours, he never indicated that the funding would continue past the initial assessment period, Reakes said.
“It’s like everybody else on campus,” Reakes said. “We just don’t have the money to do it.”
