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Printer-Friendly ModeExtension of Library hours a logical follow-up
January 22, 2007 —
SVSU has taken steps over the course of the past few years to foster a greater sense of community and belonging among students and staff at the University, an ambition any institution should possess.
Most impressive among these steps is the construction of the Student Center building, a large wing of Doan Center the purpose of which is to provide activity space for the University's myriad clubs, organizations, and groups. Immediately after completion, the building was somewhat underused, but that is beginning to change, as new students with big ideas are beginning to organize. As such, the building is usually abuzz with activity.
More recently, the University decided to extend the operating hours of the Ryder Center. While a small step, it is an important one. Perhaps not for its literal significance, but for its symbolic importance: the community is still growing. Eventually, Ryder might be open until 2 a.m., much like the C-Store which, as many people are probably familiar with, has customers right up until the doors close.
We think the next logical step for the University to take is to extend the hours of the Zahnow Library. It's no myth that many students are night-owls, and SVSU is no exception. But that's not always obvious because residents generally lock themselves up at night. Yet, this is partially due to the fact that the University, including the library, simply shuts down at night.
Allowing the Library to stay open longer has several benefits. First of all, students tend to write papers at night (the fact that the Science East computer lab is crowded at 11 p.m. is evidence of this). A lot of papers need sources, and a lot of professors require scholarly sources. Unfortunately, the Internet is often a less than adequate source of scholarly material, and after 11 p.m. that's what students are left with. Leaving the Library open would not only encourage students to utilize the facilities, but it might also discourage students from relying too heavily on the Internet and sites like Wikipedia - a controversy by itself - to source their work.
Second, the Library's facilities could be enjoyed by commuter or non-traditional students that have night classes and require more than an hour of time to do research or work on the computer. SVSU's sizable commuter base remains an important component of the University's community, and encouraging these people to stay on campus longer will only enrich the community and ultimately make going to SVSU a more enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
SVSU has done well to help bring the campus community together. The Student Center, including the Multi-Purpose room, the newly expanded Cardinal Cage, and Unity Room gave students the room they needed to gather and create. The RFoC provides the dining experience necessary to keep students in the cafeteria and out of Burger King, but these are just steps in a greater plan that must aim to encourage students to stay put. Keeping the doors of the library open should be part of it.