After walking into the middle of an ongoing discussion in the library this past week, I found it important to submit this article for print. I previously wrote it for AliveCampus.com, and found that it sparked debate and public interest from Longwood University students, alumni, faculty,and staff.
What I was asked to discuss one thing What I would change about my university is. After a long time of thinking, I chose that I would extend
the library hours, and since it has been a hot topic again lately., here is what I have to say.
I would simply make The Greenwood Library open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At Longwood we have one library on campus, aside from the small study lounges in the resident halls., Being so, we lack places to study at Longwood. Because of that, many students flock to our library to get their homework done and study for classes. Like many people know, college
comes with a lot more coursework and homework that goes along with it, therefore taking more time to complete.
The Greenwood Library is only open until midnight every Monday-Thursday. It also closes at 5:00p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. While this does cut down on many costs for the university, it also cuts off a lot of students from their most valuable place to study. Inside the library,
students can get certain materials that they cannot get at home, in a study lounge, or their rooms.:
Students can find white boards (big and small), projectors, green screens, Mac's, PC's, quiet areas, and expensive software at their fingertips in the library.
For many students at Longwood, the library's short hours are a disappointment. Some organizations have fought to extend the hours until 2:00a.m. during exam week, and have won. Also during exam week, thanks again to more organizations, the library's coffee shop Java
City, stays open 24 hours.
Although this is an improvement that every student looks forward to every year, it is not enough. Many students need these extra hours all year long and as soon as the library closes, they have nowhere else to focus and get their work done. Also, many students need printing late
at night, or need a resource like a book or special computer with expensive software, to be available to them past midnight. The library closing early also causes students to rush through their work, knowing they have to be out by a certain time.
Another thing that many students have noticednoticed is that during exam week, the library is "manned" by a Longwood University police officer, rather than the usual librarians, and the resource desk is shut down after regular hours. While shutting down the resource desk is usually
no problem to students, (the only thing students cannot do during this time is check in or out books or technology, or get professional librarian help), the reasons why the library cannot extend their hours to 24/7 gets students more agitated and angry.
Usually, when students complain about the library hours, the staff typically gives students the same excuse, -- "They can't afford it." Well to me, paying a police officer, who would usually be on duty anyways, a couple extra bucks to motivate and help students, does not seem like
something an excellent institution like Longwood "can't afford."
Every university can afford to give their students a safe, welcoming, and resourceful place to study and enhance their knowledge for as long as they need. If Longwood would make this change, students, even just a few, would positively be impacted by this effect and that is what makes all the difference.
