Beginning this fall, the library will be open 24 hours a day from 9 a.m. Sunday to 10 p.m. Friday. To compensate for the extended library hours, the Anderson Computing Complex will be closed at certain hours overnight that are yet to be determined. Student demand, as well as advocacy from SG President Ashley Mushnick, who campaigned on the issue last spring, helped bring about the change.
Additionally, to ensure students' safety and the security of the library, facilities will be limited to students only after midnight. To facilitate this switch, the entire library will be emptied at midnight and students will have to use their AU IDs to re-enter.
Although being kicked out at midnight and having to wait in a potentially long line to re-enter the building will suck, it's worth it for extended hours. No longer will students have to spend all-nighters up alone by themselves in their dorm room or setting up camp in the hallway. Now they can join the company of a few student library employees, a public safety officer and however many of their overcaffeinated peers are also soldiering through a long night of work.
The extended hours are an outstanding example of university administrators adapting services to fit students' needs. This, along with the improvements the library has undertaken lately, should continue the trend of increased library usage by students.
Way to go!
