What do you do when it’s late at night and you have to finish an assignment due the next morning? If you’re like Medill junior Jason Boué, you head to one of Northwestern’s three main libraries: Main, Deering or Mudd, hoping to secure your quiet spot in the stacks on the top floor, only to realize it’s closed.
This is a common problem for students hoping to study without the distraction of overly competitive chess games in their dorm’s lounge.
“There’s been a couple times I’ve gone to Deering, and I’m there writing, and I hear this alarm going off, like, ‘Get out,’” Boué said.
The libraries’ restrictive hours can be especially problematic after a busy night of club meetings or a sports game, according to some students. Main and Deering shutter at midnight Sunday through Thursday and at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Early risers experience the opposite problem: Main and Deering both open at 8 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends. Students who prefer to cram for their tests in the morning, like Weinberg sophomore John Saleeb, say the current opening hours make that challenging.
“There are some times where (I have) exams at 10 or 11, and I get there really early and study,” he said. “I study extra hard on the day of (my exams) to prepare and warm myself up.”
While Mudd’s front room is open 24/7, the long walk north can be a deterrent for many students who live South, on or off campus. Others find these spaces overwhelming.
McCormick sophomore Andrew Hong, for example, said the dead silent 24-hour section in Mudd is “too intense” for him, and he prefers the areas that close earlier.
“There have been a few times where … I do need nighttime studying and (they’re) closed,” Hong said.
The campus libraries have several key advantages over dorm lounges, empty classrooms and other common study spaces. For students without laptops, the desktop computers at libraries can be a critical resource. In addition, the library computers offer students access to academic databases likeProQuest and JSTOR.
Libraries also provide study environments conducive to student collaboration. For example, 1 South on the first floor of Main has large tables for study groups and collaborative projects.
“Not many dorms have a lot of space for working, and I think if (libraries) stay open later, then it would definitely give more access to collaboration,” Weinberg freshman Yujin Tatar said.
According to University spokesperson Erin Karter, NU chose the current hours based on library usage patterns.
“We saw that closing the libraries at 12 a.m. provided most students with the study space during the times they needed it most,” Karter said.
While the University does not plan to adjust library hours this year, Karter said, it will continue to monitor library usage and make changes if needed.
Main, Deering and Mudd are open 24/7 during Reading Periods and Finals Weeks at the end of each quarter.
“I feel like it would be really helpful if they did stay open later,” Tatar said. “It would be hard for people to work late hours, but I would really appreciate it.”
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Twitter: @IsaiahStei27
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