The prospects of extended library hours at Bracken Library are a closed chapter for now.
Dean of University Libraries Matthew Shaw said Bracken Library will not extend weekend hours.
The decision comes after a test pilot was conducted which extended hours Dec. 7-8, the weekend before finals. Instead of closing at the usual time of 9 p.m., the library remained open until midnight.
“Attendance statistics were relatively low,” Shaw said in an email. “The numbers do not indicate the need to extend Friday and Saturday hours throughout the semester.”
However, Bracken Library will extend weekend hours on the Friday and Saturday leading up to finals, Shaw said. Currently, the library is open 123 hours a week.
The extended weekend hours were part of Student Government Association (SGA) executive slate Amplify's platform points, said SGA vice-president Matt Hinkleman.
Amplify wanted to see if students had interest in utilizing the library in the evenings on weekends, Hinkleman said.
Last September, Amplify sent out a campus-wide survey about the extension of library hours. More than 1,000 students responded, with 67 percent wanting extended hours, according to SGA.
Because of the survey, Hinkleman said he expected attendance to be higher during the pilot.
Sophomore Sarah Phipps said she would have gone to the pilot last semester, but she didn’t know about it.
“I like to study at night,” said Phipps, an actuarial science major. “When I want to come study at like eight at night, knowing I have an hour [left] is kind of annoying — more time would be nice.”
Phipps said she would like to have these hours later on the weekend and thinks other students would like this as well.
Indiana University Bloomington’s library stays open until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, like Bracken Library. However, a section of the library is accessible 24/7 via card swipe.
Similarly, Purdue University has a library that remains open till 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and is accessible via card swipe after that time.
Other universities, like Bowling Green, close even earlier than Ball State on those days.
While hours will be extended only one weekend a semester, it can serve as a resource before finals, Hinkleman said.
Amplify members will focus their attention on their remaining platform points moving forward, Hinkleman said.
Contact Liz Rieth with comments at ejrieth@bsu.edu or on Twitter @liz_rieth.
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