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Library remains open overnight
By Kim Selman on 9/20/07
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Those students who are not already inside the library by midnight will need to swipe their AU ID cards outside the door in order to enter, said Katherine Simpson, assistant head of access services for the library.
"Students will be required to have ID after midnight," Simpson said. "Security can ask you to present it, and they will probably be going around doing spot checks."
Information about the plan to extend the library's operating hours first came when Acting University Librarian Diana Vogelsong sent out an announcement about the new schedule during the spring semester, according to Simpson.
Though it was ultimately the library staff's decision to stay open 24 hours, AU students had previously asked for the extension.
The library received a number of requests to keep its doors open for 24 hours on multiple occasions. Previously, the library had only implemented a 24-hour schedule during exams, according to Mike Sweeney, a first-year student in the Washington College of Law who works as a circulation specialist at the library.
"We have had a lot of student interest for years," he said. "It will provide a good study space for students that is quiet, especially overnight."
The extended hours are a positive change, said Cristina Fernandez, a graduate student in SOC. She was unsure of how soon she would use the new extended hours, however.
"When there are exams and papers due, I think it will be more useful than now, since classes are just starting," Fernandez said.
The library will keep three part-time librarians on staff during late-night hours to aid students with any questions they may have, according to Simpson.
In addition, students will be able to check out books at any time through a self-checkout machine on the first floor of the library, he said.
Officials at the library had been concerned that the 24-hour schedule would pose safety problems.
The measures the library is taking to ensure student safety are positive, according to Kristie Cole, a sophomore in the School of Communication.
"I like that they are being safe about it," she said. "Having only one door open helps me feel safe to come here at night."
Under the original plan announced in the spring, the entire library would be emptied at midnight each night, and students would then need to swipe their AU ID cards to re-enter the building, The Eagle previously reported.
The library will continue to keep track of how many students are using its late-night services, Simpson said.
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