The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

    Students who study at night over weekends not happy with library hours

    With finals approaching and schoolwork piling up, students are becoming increasingly reliant on the University to provide them with quiet places to work.

    Luckily for those who depend on the libraries to study at night, library hours will be extended during finals week.

    Grainger Engineering Library Information Center and the Undergraduate Library will be open 24/7 beginning Dec. 10.

    For most of the school year, Grainger and the UGL are open Sundays at 10 a.m. and remain open 24 hours a day until Fridays at 10 p.m. They are also open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. These two libraries are the only ones open overnight during the week.

    While these libraries offer reliable places for quiet study during the day, students who wish to continue studying into the night on the weekends have to find somewhere else to do their work.

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    Beth Sandore, associate University librarian for information technology, planning and policy, said that the reasons libraries are not open 24/7 during most of the semester are limited resources and budget constraints.

    Scott Walter, associate University librarian for services and associate dean of libraries, said that though he does not doubt that increasing library hours of operation would benefit some, it would require the University to re-allocate funding from elsewhere.

    “We would review the current situation if we began to receive feedback that there was a considerable user need for additional hours,” he added.

    Milap Bhatt, junior in LAS, said he would benefit from libraries staying open overnight on the weekends.

    “I need a place to study at night, it’s loud everywhere else,” he said.

    Though many University dorms offer places for students to study, Bhatt, who lives in a dorm, said he finds that other students can be distracting when he tries to study there at night.

    Azam Farooqui, senior in AHS, said he agrees that he would get more work done if he had a quiet place to study on weekend nights.

    Farooqui said he typically studies at Grainger when it is open and at his apartment when the library closes. Since he finds it hard to focus in his apartment, he said he would like Grainger so stay open 24/7.

    “It can be distracting with people walking in and out of the apartment,” he said.

    However, not all students see a problem with the library hours as they are now.

    “I won’t be studying at night on the weekends. That’s what the day is for,” said Jon Stevens, senior in LAS.

    Stevens said the only time he anticipates needing to study at night over the weekend will be during finals week.

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