Hillman Library extends hours

Starting this fall, students who so desire can eat, sleep and potentially live in the Hillman Library from Monday to Thursday without exiting the building.

The library has begun transitioning to extended hours. Beginning Sept. 9, the library will open at 10 a.m. Sunday and stay open until 10 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, it will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Many students have awaited this change for years, as other college libraries across the nation have expanded their hours to stay open all the time. A push for longer hours frequently appeared on the platforms for Student Government Board candidates.

Rose Morrison, a senior, was pleased with the development.

“I’m just surprised it’s taken this long to become 24/7, considering how much everyone wanted it,” Morrison said.

Students weren’t the sole advancers behind the push for longer hours. Rush Miller, the director of the University Library System and a librarian at Hillman, said the idea wasn’t new. 

“We have been trying to get this done for several years, as the extended hours we have been trying at finals time had been so popular,” Miller said in an email. “Clearly we felt the need for this has been building and are just glad we can accommodate the student population’s desire to have the library open 24 hours.”

But extending library hours could be a costly venture.

Librarians with advanced training are needed constantly, but most staff do not have a degree in library sciences. Shelvers, circulation attendants and some cataloguers are often student workers or other staff, and the reference section is generally staffed by a librarian. In order to keep Hillman open longer, Miller had to be able to ensure that there were the appropriate people on staff at all hours.

“I know we added a position for evenings and additional guard hours,” he said. “We did this through reallocating a vacant position from elsewhere so that no money was added to our budget for this change in hours,” said Miller.

Zarreen Amin, a senior who has worked at the library for more than two years, is looking forward to the new hours. 

“It’s more opportunity to get more hours of work,” Amin said, adding that it will be easier to schedule around classes and other commitments. “Plus, it’ll allow students to study longer so they don’t have to relocate at 2 a.m.”