Late night library hours restricted due to vandalism
Jamie Metrick
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
Hege Library's hours of operation Sunday through Thursday have changed due to late-night vandalism in the lower level.
The library used to remain open as late as 2 a.m. on weekdays. But since last fall, students have used the relative privacy of the lower floor for inappropriate behavior. Starting last Sunday, the library's lower level now closes at 11:45 p.m. The main and upper levels will remain open until 2 a.m. The entire building will be kept open late the week preceding and during exams.
Violations ranged from trash, such as beer bottles, to outright vandalism including discarded condoms and feces smeared on the men's bathroom walls.
"(The vandalism) does not support our students who want to study and use the library appropriately," said Hege Library Director Mary Ellen Chijioke. "It also subjects the housekeeping staff to things they shouldn't have to deal with."
Chijioke and the library staff knew last semester that the vandalism could not continue and began working with Public Safety to figure out a solution. For several weeks, Public Safety officers walked through the building between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. to see how many students utilized the library for studying.
"We were seeing the results of some people not using the facilities appropriately," said Ron Stowe, director of public safety. "We asked: 'is this just a party spot or are students using the library appropriately?' If not, we were going to close down the building."
The tentative plans to close the entire building by midnight came to a halt when Public Safety found that a large number of students used the library to study during the late night hours. The library staff looked to other universities and colleges for solutions.
Some schools keep their libraries open 24 hours, but Chijioke noted that neither the library nor Public Safety have enough staff to meet those hours. However, they found many schools keep only one or two portions of their libraries open late.
The library used to remain open as late as 2 a.m. on weekdays. But since last fall, students have used the relative privacy of the lower floor for inappropriate behavior. Starting last Sunday, the library's lower level now closes at 11:45 p.m. The main and upper levels will remain open until 2 a.m. The entire building will be kept open late the week preceding and during exams.
Violations ranged from trash, such as beer bottles, to outright vandalism including discarded condoms and feces smeared on the men's bathroom walls.
"(The vandalism) does not support our students who want to study and use the library appropriately," said Hege Library Director Mary Ellen Chijioke. "It also subjects the housekeeping staff to things they shouldn't have to deal with."
Chijioke and the library staff knew last semester that the vandalism could not continue and began working with Public Safety to figure out a solution. For several weeks, Public Safety officers walked through the building between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. to see how many students utilized the library for studying.
"We were seeing the results of some people not using the facilities appropriately," said Ron Stowe, director of public safety. "We asked: 'is this just a party spot or are students using the library appropriately?' If not, we were going to close down the building."
The tentative plans to close the entire building by midnight came to a halt when Public Safety found that a large number of students used the library to study during the late night hours. The library staff looked to other universities and colleges for solutions.
Some schools keep their libraries open 24 hours, but Chijioke noted that neither the library nor Public Safety have enough staff to meet those hours. However, they found many schools keep only one or two portions of their libraries open late.
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