Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the Office of the Provost will fund Library West for two years, not three.
Students can still go out for drinks even when the Midtown bars are closed.
Starting Tuesday morning past 1 a.m., Library West, along with its Starbucks Coffee, will open up for students 24/7, Student Body President Ian Green wrote in an email.
Library officials chose the reopening date because it allowed them time to make the necessary changes in operations and hire new staff, Green said.
The $160,000 for the first year of additional hours will come from Student Government reserve funds, Green said. The transfer was made on Sept. 18.
The UF Office of the Provost will then fund the library for an additional two years after the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
The around-the-clock hours will give Ariel Hadley, an 18-year-old UF environmental science freshman, more time to study.
“I always felt kind of rushed to beat the clock and finish my work before the library closes,” Hadley said.
Hadley never had access to the library when it was 24/7 before, in Spring 2018, even though she often finds herself studying into the early hours of the morning, she said. The extended hours will give her more flexibility to complete assignments.
“I personally have a hard time falling asleep because my mind is always going at that time,” she said.
The return of 24/7 hours will be helpful during exam weeks, said Carolina Casariego, a 22-year-old UF statistics senior. While the library wasn’t open, she’d spend the overnight hours studying in her room.
“It’s nice to have Library West as a 24/7 library,” Casariego said. “It fits more people and motivates you to stay longer and study.”
The late hours aren’t useful for everyone, like Ryan Robinson, an 18-year old UF political science freshman who said he goes to bed early.
Even though Robinson said he probably won’t put the hours to much use, he said he sees the value in extending them.
“College kids, they never go to sleep anyway, so you might as well keep it open 24/7,” Robinson said.
Contact Gillian Sweeney at gsweeney@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @gilliangsweeney
UF advertising juniors Katy Whitehurst, 20, and Ria Burgos, 20, study at Library West on Sunday night.
