Belk Library is testing out extended hours of operation during the spring semester. The first and second floors will remain open for 24 hours, along with the circulation and reservation desks.
The library staff decided to make these changes after several requests from students. Freshman Julia Denick said she often finds herself in the library late at night and disliked having to switch floors once the second floor closed at 1 a.m.
“My preference is the second floor, because you lay out whatever you need to study,” she said. “Then 12:45 would hit and I wouldn’t be done. It would be frustrating because I would have to pack up and move downstairs. If it is a busy night, (the first floor) is a little more crowded and distracting.”
Kate Hickey, dean and university librarian, said the reason for having previously closed down the second and third floors was for security purposes.
“The only reason we closed them down is that there is one person monitoring the building, and it is a pretty big building,” she said.
In an effort to battle security
issues, the school installed security cameras in the library and Dwight Davis, the night manager, will make rounds, Hickey said.
Despite the fact that Davis is the only staff member present in the evenings, Denick said she’s never been concerned about her personal safety in the library.
“The library is a very safe atmosphere,” she said. “I have left my stuff out before to go get a cup of coffee from Moseley and come back to find that all of my stuff is still there. Maybe that is not the smartest idea, but I feel comfortable doing that. I have seen the librarians making rounds and I don’t think I would feel unsafe.”
And students aren’t the only ones excited by the extended hours. The library staff expects the hours will change students’ study habits and encourage people to spend more time at the library.
“I think it will increase the library usage, and I feel that the students will stay longer and later in the library being they will not have to move to the first floor,” Davis said.
The extension of hours is only a trial, and Davis said if safety and security become an issue, the extended hours might not go into permanent effect.