Has anyone been in the Whittemore library and heard that obnoxious bell ring at 10:45 pm warning people the library is closing? Does anyone have a problem with the library closing at 11:00 pm? I live in an apartment with 3 other people. I find it hard to study at my apartment because of the distractions of the TV and video games and general people who are coming in and out of the house to hang out. Therefore, when it comes to doing homework and studying for midterms and finals, I go to the Whittemore library at Framingham State University. Last week I had two midterms to study for. I went to study for them and an obnoxious bell sound went off at 10:45 P.M. I was approached by a librarian asking me to leave because they were closing at 11:00 p.m.
I believe a college library should be open until 1:00 a.m. I was kicked out of the library at 11:00 p.m. during midterm week on a Tuesday night and had to go home and attempt to study while my roommates played video games with friends back at home. College is all about studying and students have been taught before entering college to prepare for the work load that we will be given by our college professors. I am currently taking 5 courses at Framingham this semester. I have many papers, tests, and projects due over the course of the term. The library is the best place for me to get work done and the closing time of 11:00 pm is very inconvenient. I also play a sport at Framingham, and I generally do not start my homework until 8:00 pm because of practices and games.
Other schools have different polices on their libraries. Boston College and Quinnipiac University have libraries that stay open 24 hours. Boston University’s library closes at 1:00 am every night but during finals week, stays open 24 hours. Holy Cross just opened their library 24 hours a day except for weekends. St. Lawrence University closes there library at 1:00 am but stays open until 4 am during finals and midterms. St. Lawrence University also has a 24 hour room that stays open for students if they want to study after 1:00 am located in the main college campus.
I believe students would very much appreciate an extension of hours of the Whittemore library to 1:00 am during the week days and 24 hours during midterm and finals week. The librarians could still work until 11:00 p.m. and campus security could take over until 1:00 am and then lock up after 1:00 am. I believe by extending the hours of the library, student’s performance on tests and projects would improve immensely.
You're are attending a public college, not a private one. One consequence is that the library staff are state employees, with a union contract. It specifies who is allowed to work in the library, and campus security is not on the list.
ReplyDeleteCollege is all about growing up, and part of growing up is acquiring interpersonal skills such as negotiating with roommates.
I agree with bmw, Whittemore Library is extremely inconvenient during times. I do not live on campus and I have found myself looking for a place to finish the rest of my work because it is after 11.
ReplyDeleteOther state school libraries such as Westfield State, Salem State and stay open until midnight (http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu//hours.htm). It is not a matter of being a state or private school, I feel that the students of FSU need to bring this to someone's attention.
Took me less than a minute to discover that Bonnie Mitchell is the Director of Library Services. Her office is in Room 116, her phone number is 508.626.4651, and her email is bmitchell@framingham.edu . Why don't you, as one of the students of FSU, bring this situation to her attention? And then report back to the rest of us on what she says.
ReplyDeleteIts 2010. Most of the work required in college can be done out of the library using online resources. The college center is open all night long so you could study there. Nobody reads books anymore anyway.
ReplyDeleteBut given the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent rennovating the library, with emphasis placed on making it comfortable for students, theres no doubt it should be open longer, especially for midterms and finals.
Even with union contracts, this is still possible.
And "interpersonal skills such as negotiating with roommates. " won't make up for the fact that internet connection speeds in the residence halls are atrocious.
I wonder how many students go through each year without activating their library cards. Maybe they all just study at night?