A senator in Sam Houston State University’s Student Government Association is trying to change the library to a 24-hour system.
Shane Rankin, a senator for SGA, has asked that the Newton Grisham library go to a 24 hour system. VP & Provost of Academic Affairs Jamie Hebert said during the Jan. 24 meeting that they will temporarily open the library for 24- hours during finals week.
During this time, Hebert told Rankin, the library will study the traffic and make an assessment from there.
“Based on current statistics of students who leave between 11 a.m. and 1 a.m. there is not a need for a 24-hour system,” Ann Holder, director of library services said.
Holder said when this issue first came up last year before Thanksgiving break, few students were leaving between 11 p.m. and midnight.
Holder said that there are resources online that it should make it easy for students to sit at home in their desk and do research.
“All but one database is open 24/7,” Holder said.
According to Holder the four-acre building would cost too much to keep open all day for study purposes. Due to health codes, the library cannot just open one room because then there would be no restroom available.
“In order to keep the library open 24/7 we would also need more people to work,” Holder said. “[That] leads to more money, which could eventually lead to a raise in tuition.”
Holder believes if the library should be spending more money, it should go towards resources.
“I understand the need for a quiet place to study, but there must be an alternative,” Holder said. “I honestly don’t know where that would be on this campus.”
San Antonio College, at 20,000 students does not have a 24-hour library, while Rhode Island University, at 15,000 students does use a 24-hour library.
Library hours currently are Mon-Wed 7:30 a.m. – 1 a.m., Thu 7:30 a.m. – 12 a.m., Fri 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sun 2 p.m. – 1 a.m.