Library to be opened until midnight

The Executive Board has agreed with a proposal by student party SAM to extend the library opening hours until midnight. The extended opening hours will be tested next academic year, starting September.

The university library will still open at the regular times, but it will close at midnight.  Now students are kicked out at eleven during the week and at six in the weekend.

The proposal by SAM was backed by a survey among students. The survey revealed that 55 percent of the 131 students questioned were not satisfied by the library opening hours during the weekend. The other student party, Fractie Front added that foreign (exchange) students will also benefit from extended opening hours during the week.

The LIS (Library and IT department) estimated the average occupation rate of the library in the year 2011/2012. Apparently Sunday night is the busiest night of the week: an hour before closing 214 workspaces (out of 562) were occupied. The LIS also investigated periodical shifts in occupation rates, caused by – for example – exams. Shifts occurred, concluded the LIS, but they were not big enough to warrant special policy. The LIS advised the board not to differentiate the opening hours. Friday morning was – coincidentally – the least busy period. One hour after opening there were 77 students studying on average.

The test starts in September 2013 and will be evaluated in the spring of 2014. If the test is a success, the university will fund the extended opening hours. This will cost the university 189.000 euros annually.

The proposal was discussed in an earlier university council. All parties judged positively about the proposal. The worker’s party, ABVA-Kabo, however added that the costs shouldn’t outweigh the benefits. The party calculated that the extended hours will cost a 1.000 euro per user, while only 1.5 percent of the student population will use the longer opening hours.