Midterms usually call for extra studying. This semester, students will have extra access to the library, as the hours will be extended for a period of time, after Student Government proposed the idea. In previous trials, the library did not have a high attendance rate for the early morning hours, but Marlyn Pethe, director of the Macdonald-Kelce Library, thinks this time around will be more successful.
“This time I think will go really well because [the extensions] go over midterms so that’s obviously a time where students are very interested in staying later, so we’ll see how the numbers go,” she said.
The new hours are already proving to be effective. The staff counted about 70 people using the services at around 1:30 a.m on Monday.
Junior criminology major Bre Wright thinks the extended weekend hours could be good for students. “I guess it’s better on Sunday that you can go from 10-2 because most people do their work on Sundays.”
With the extended hours, students think the University of Tampa could match other schools in their library services.
Senior pre-med major Alfonso Heredia said, “I think it is very useful to have the library open for that long. Any serious institution would have after midnight hours available, especially during finals and midterms.”
“I think that it’s a great idea. Most other universities I know of have libraries open until at least 2 a.m., and a couple have 24-hour study rooms. It’s great for people who have late class until 10 p.m.,” senior biopsychology major Emily Lucero added.
Pethe is happy to extend the hours, in order to support students’ studies. “We’re a service organization. I don’t think there’s anybody on campus who wouldn’t want to add to the academic success of the students, and we’re a big part of that. I’m thrilled to see the [extra hours] being used.”
But even if these extended hours solve one problem, it might not help the bigger picture: the library’s size. Some students feel that it doesn’t matter how long the library is open, if there isn’t sufficient room.
Wright thinks the size of the library is an issue. “You have to have a bigger library if you’re going to increase the size of your student population,” she said. “Because you can’t have a two-story library and have all these freshmen, and obviously all these juniors and seniors, who are doing proposals and research articles, that need to be in the library, there’s not enough room.”
If the extended hours are a success, there will have to be some budget planning if students and staff wish to keep them full time.
The hours will be from Oct. 8-21. Sunday through Wednesday it will be open until 2 a.m., with Sundays also opening at 10 a.m., and Friday it will close at 9 p.m. The Thursday hours were not changed.
Caroline Metell can be reached at cmetell@spartans.ut.edu