Students who need a quiet, monitored study environment might be frustrated with Bizzell Memorial Library’s night and weekend hours.
The library is open until 2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays and opens at noon Sundays, but some students feel the library should be open 24 hours.
The hours are determined by student usage, class scheduling, the hours of peer institutions and budget resources, Sarah Robbins, University Libraries spokeswoman, said by e-mail.
Robbins said cost is the primary reason the library system is not 24 hours.
“In a building the size of Bizzell, we must be well-staffed to ensure the security of our students and other users,” Robbins said. “And the costs of maintaining that level of staffing for 24-hour service is prohibitive.”
Robbins said usage includes the number of people coming through the door, asking questions at the service desks and using the computers.
“The library hours are fairly set, but usage could impact hours during holidays, hours desks are staffed, etc.,” Robbins said.
She said the library uses a system in place at the doors that automatically tracks “gate counts,” the number of people coming in through the doors.
Whitney Miner, biochemistry sophomore, said the library’s 2 a.m. closing time has forced her to leave study groups early. Miner said she thinks a change in library hours wouldn’t require too much on the university’s part.
“They don’t have to have a ton of people working there to stay open late at night,” Miner said. “It would be nice to have it open for 24 hours. If not for my sake, then for others’ sake.”
During the school year, the library is open 117 hours per week as it has been for many years, Robbins said.
“If you look at the hours we are actually closed, you’ll see that the library is only closed for a relatively short period of time,” Robbins said. “During the week, we only close for five and a half hours each day.”
Robbins said the library is open 24 hours during finals week, although in recent years there has been a decline in visits during these extended hours.
Kevyn Gero, psychology sophomore, said she would like to see the library keep one floor open all night. Gero said the library could close the circulation desk and have guards monitor the one floor.
“If they left one floor open, like the main floor, and just had security guards, then that would give students a place to study,” Gero said. “After the library closes, I usually go home because the union isn’t the most safe.”
Baylor University, the University of Kansas and Texas A&M University libraries all have 24-hour study areas available in their libraries, according to their Web sites.
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sartazbdt 2 years, 2 months ago
I think,and many of my friends think too that this law shuld have been enacted a long time ago. in fact most universities have their main libraries open 24 hours
borenismyhomie 2 years, 2 months ago
Hey privileged pansies, GO HOME AND STUDY.
thegerman41 2 years, 2 months ago
It would be a waste to keep the library open 24/7 because hardly anyone would use it and it would be a strain on employees who have to work those late night shifts. If you need a quiet place to study, just study at your house/apartment/dorm. Not much happens at 3am on a weekday, so you should have quiet.
Tiberius 2 years, 2 months ago
Increase fees on 20,000 of us so 4 people can study in the library at 4:30am? I think not.
LilyS 2 years, 2 months ago
It's sad. The library should definitely be open 24/7. I personally know 15 people that decided not to attend OU because the library wasn't open 24 hours a day. They went to Baylor instead. yeah. sad.
acsooner 2 years, 2 months ago
To the poster above, your friends are dumb because Baylor's main libraries only stay open until 1am during the week. OSU's library stays open until 2am during the week. Also, a quick Google of the state universities in bordering states have varying closing times between midnight and 2am. I don't think this is the right time or area for OU to be a "pioneer" in, especially with this economic climate.
soonerscotty 2 years, 2 months ago
The main library New Mexico State University closes at 10pm...consider yourselves lucky.
I'm an OU alum and have studied and worked at several universities around the country...OU takes amazing care of it's students! Better than most Ivy League universities.
Be thankful for what you have.
mythman 2 years, 2 months ago
Perhaps we could work out a system where only the people who are in the library pay the fees that would keep the library open at that time. You want to pay the security guard, the computer tech and circulation tech, all on overtime, yourself? Go ahead.