Writer’s Note:
This data was collected using Smathers Libraries Occupancy Counts during library weekday hours (8 a.m. to 1 a.m.). Data was collected from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14.
Over a year ago, UF’s Marston Science Library was open 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Its all-night hours were cut to five days a week in Fall 2024, and in Fall 2025, the library was open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m.
After mass pushback from students, the university will reinstate 24/5 access to Marston this Spring, according to an Instagram post from UF Student Government. But data collected in September and October 2025 indicate students didn’t often use the library past 9 p.m.
Both Marston and UF’s other most popular study spot, Library West, see the most visitors at 3 p.m. Marston peaks at around 1,263 to 1,541 people, while Lib West more often sees about 607 to 778 people during its most-visited hours.
Nested inside Turnlington Plaza, Marston, the largest library on campus, sits within a five-story brown brick hub. It features rentable group study rooms and a Marston Makerspace, where students can create projects with tools like a 3D printing service.
Anna Hewitt, an 18-year-old UF chemical engineering freshman, is one student who struggles to find a seat in the Marston basement during its busiest hour
To Hewitt, Marston is a hangout space where she meets friends. She also uses the space for work, attending committee meetings or catching up on chemistry lectures.
“I’ll get work done, but it also feels like I’m getting work done with other people instead of it being an isolated experience,” she said.
Hewitt also said she sometimes makes it a goal to “close out Marston” to finish her work. She said she spent over six hours in Marston’s basement one day.
Roughly a six-minute walk away, Library West sits with large windows and a gator statue greeting those walking into the library.
Zachary Cavasini, a 19-year-old UF philosophy and history sophomore, said he studies at Library West more often since changing his major from computer science.
He said he goes to the library three to four times per week, because most of the papers he cites in his class essays are only available in Library West.
Cavasini said he was surprised by the Fall announcement for the library time cuts, because the libraries’ long hours are important for students.
He said the libraries should be open longer because students rely on them, whether for homework assignments or to find essays and articles for sourcing not available outside of the library.
“I feel like closing the libraries too early hinders students, especially during exam season,” Cavasini said.
Kelly Handy, the assistant user services manager and public services facilitator for Library West, said the library offers lots of resources that haven’t been affected by the time cuts.
She said the library employs numerous types of staff, including student assistants and faculty librarians, to help students with whatever they might need. Library West also provides group study rooms, a study buddy program and loans out tools from tripods to phone chargers.
“I hope students value the welcoming nature of our library,” Handy wrote in an email.
There are also several other libraries on campus. With shorter hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and less space, these libraries see less traffic than Marston and Library West.
The count comes from ceiling-mounted cameras, which track occupancy, wrote Alex Avelino, the director of marketing and communications for George A. Smathers Libraries, in an email.
Contact Alanna Robbert at arobbert@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alannafitzr.
Alanna is a journalism senior and the Fall 2025 data reporter for The Alligator's Enterprise desk. She was previously a general assignment reporter for metro. Outside of reporting, she is found either with a book, in the gym or with friends playing pool.
