Graphic by Dani Ramirez
Written by Evan T. Grahn
Any college student knows how crucial a campus library is for their work and studies. Whether it is used as quiet space for homework, the source for research materials, access to educational technology or just a convenient place for socialization, it functions as a necessary cornerstone to the campus community and pursuit of each student’s education.
That is why it was a surprise, and an unwelcome one at that, to many students when the library revealed the cut in its hours this semester. Already having limited weekend access last semester, John Spoor Broome Library is now entirely closed on Saturdays, having its doors locked from 5:00 pm Friday to 1:00 pm Sunday. If it were just the library desk being unstaffed, that would be less of a concern, but this closure now results in the lack of access to all of the other services and facilities provided and contained through the library.
When discussing this closure with students, all of them emphasized how crucial of an asset the library is for the accessibility of students to engage with their coursework. Bradley Pompa-Whitaker, Junior Year Early Childhood Studies Major, says in regard to such restrictions that “it’s a shame… especially for students that need computers and technology assistants, that they are limited in terms of what they can and cannot do.”
This restriction is even more impactful for students who have limited access to computers outside of the university, or rely on the library to interact with digital coursework, which most courses use to some extent. Senior Mechatronics Engineering Major, Nicholas Parks, spoke passionately about this conflict between intent and implementation: “the very institution that you are paying to educate… and they can’t open the library for five hours on a Saturday evening. … It used to be open from one to five on Saturday… that’s four hours that probably a lot of students relied on to get work done. What if you don’t have a computer? What if all you have is your phone? … What if you don’t have a space to study?”
The very purpose of the university’s library is to provide students with resources that they need for their classes, as though many texts and research may be available online, it is still inaccessible to the educational needs and preferences of students to demand that they rely on one medium over another. And though it is the free-willed choice of a student to pursue higher education, the institution that enables such should not work in opposition to its students, even if that opposition is a lack of opportunity.
Randy Richards, Junior History Major, relies on the library for his homework and research for class assignments, as it is the only place where he can consistently find all the texts needed for his assignments: “it’s very hard for us as students to not be able to use those resources and get the things that we need from those places. … I need to find books, I need to have something that’s tangible in my hands while I’m doing my research for my history courses… and although I could go to them during the week, I have other responsibilities.” Requiring students to acquire and manage all their resources throughout the week only functions as an unnecessary obstacle and inconvenience to students who have obligations during the week. And though the management of such obligations is a skill to be learned during one’s higher education, again, the University should work in accordance with the development of such, ideally providing more opportunities than restraints.
This semester also saw the closure of Freudian Sip, the library’s coffee shop and now-empty space adjacent to the main entrance, being rebranded and relocated to the University’s newly unveiled Gateway Hall. This change, although appealing to staff and students visiting the front of the school, only further disincentivizes students, especially campus residents, from utilizing the library as a place to study. Lena De La O, Senior Early Childhood Studies Major, shares how even though she needs places to study on campus, there is now no appeal for her to go out of her way to study at the library: “I went there a lot last semester, so I’m a little bit bummed that they closed that. Because… I don’t like studying in my room… I just always want to spend time talking with my roommates instead of getting stuff done. … I would like to be able to come to the library with my roommates, get a coffee, and study.”
Regardless of the intent behind the cut in library hours, it is hard to see how it could be done in the interest of students. Not only are hours already limited throughout the week, but the Saturday closures and removal of Freudian Sip leave this beacon of learning deserted.
