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Jared Duffy (left) a senior construction major hands a book over to Caroline Kroner a freshman in Business Administration

The front entrane of the Robert S. Swanson Learning Center on a sunny fall afternoon

Studying around the clock on campus

Proposal to keep library open 24 hours during finals falls through

By: Eric Thorson

Posted: 11/19/09

It is the reason that college students pull all-nighters by using an array of various drugs. No, I'm not talking about a typical Friday night at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, rather finals week and its drawing closer with each passing day. Students' options for preparing for the end of semester onslaught of exams and projects are somewhat limited from the evening to the wee hours of the morning. The Robert S. Swanson Learning Center, or the library as it is more commonly referred to, has had the same hours of operation for years. It closes at midnight Sunday through Wednesday, at 11 p.m. on Thursday and at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. College students are notorious night owls and the library is one of the most popular study areas on campus. To accommodate the needs of the students, the library will remain open until 2 a.m. from Dec. 15-17 as well as Dec. 21 and 22. Weekend hours will be extended to 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19.

The initial idea was to keep the library open 24 hours during finals week. Many other college campuses have instituted that policy during finals week including UW-Stout's neighbor to the east, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. A Facebook group called "Stout Students in Support of a 24-hour Library during Finals Week" was created to view feedback about this idea. The group attracted 840 members, some in support of the idea and some who opposed it. One member of the group mentioned how many students have classes, jobs and extracurricular activities and that sometimes their day doesn't end until 10 or 11 p.m. Students in this situation would have only one or two hours to get their work done at the library. The point was also brought up that homework could actually be done at home.

Having multiple roommates, all with different schedules, however, does not always allow for the most conducive studying atmosphere. Many people posted on the Facebook group that they enjoy the ambience that the library provides and would much rather study there than anywhere else. Access to available research tools is also a plus to students who wish to see the library remain open. The majority of people who posted on the wall of the group felt the plan to remain open until 2 a.m. was sufficient to most people's study needs.

This idea came under much scrutiny from students, especially those students who double as employees of the library.
"The first and foremost issue of keeping the library open 24 hours is that the library doesn't have the budget to do so," said Amanda Greene, who is a senior graphic design major as well as the UW-Stout Library student manager. "Suppose we did somehow find the money. This would mean that each student worker would have to put in a 40-hour work week, and we all have our own finals to prepare for."

One idea was to pay the workers a higher wage for working the overnight shift. UW-Eau Claire pays its library workers an elevated wage, and they have been able to make it work. Another option proposed by one student on the same Facebook group was to hire Wal-Mart employees that were already accustomed to working the graveyard shift.

"This is an interesting idea; however, I'm not sure that it would work for a couple of reasons," said Greene. "It would be virtually impossible to train new workers in such a short time period-our jobs consist of a lot more than just checking out books. The new employees would have to learn how to use the databases, shelve books, check-out equipment, transfer phone calls, place items on reserve, pull and package books for Universal Borrowing and Interlibrary loan, be able to handle tech problems, take fines, add library printers to laptops, use the microfiche machines for periodicals and understand emergency procedures."

There are also security issues involved with keeping the library open 24 hours. There would not be enough people on staff to monitor the entire library, leaving it prone to alcohol abuse, pornography and other student mischief. Students who are celebrating the end of the semester may also feel the temptation to enter the library intoxicated, even if it was just to use the bathroom. One idea from a student was to shut down the upper floors and keep all activity confined to the first two floors.

Whether or not the library would even be utilized that late into the night was another question.
"I honestly don't think there will be many students there," said Greene. "We keep track of how many patrons enter and exit the library on the hour, every hour with a simple counter on the security gates. For example, this past Saturday, only 67 students entered throughout the entire day."

The schedule has been decided and students will be able to utilize the library on the dates above until 2 a.m. to prepare for finals. Greene closed by saying, "We are open at 7:30 a.m. as well; I really feel that students can study in their own rooms for five and a half hours."