Wells library west tower expands hours

After countless nights of being kicked out of the library’s upper floors at 2 a.m. and having to find somewhere else to go, IU students can stop worrying about having a place to study late into the night.\nStarting today, the second through fifth floors of the Herman B Wells Library’s west tower will experiment with remaining open 24 hours a day, Sunday through Thursday, until the end of the semester. If successful, the new library hours could extend into next year, said IUB Library Director of Communications Eric Bartheld. \n“We’re testing the extended hours for a limited time, and wanted to do so at the busiest time of the semester when we know students use the library most,” Bartheld said.\nCarolyn Walters, executive associate dean of the library, said the idea for the new hours came from requests from hundreds of students.\n“Each day we have between 6,000 to 7,000 students going through the west tower, and that’s a lot of traffic,” Walters said. “There will be even more toward the end of the semester.”\nPatricia Steele, Ruth Lilly interim dean of University libraries, agreed.\n“Now we’re giving (students) more of what they’ve asked for,” Steele said in a news release. “We’re providing those choices at the times they need them most, even if it’s in the middle of the night. Our goal, always, is to help students succeed academically.”\nThe library’s old hours, from 8 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, were also extended to provide students with a safe place to study. \n“There will be a security guard patrolling the floors throughout the extended hours,” Walters said.\nDiane Dallis, head of Information Commons Undergraduate Library Services, elaborated on the security of the floors. \n“From midnight to 8 a.m., use of the west tower is restricted to IU faculty, staff and students, and the security guard will enforce this stringently,” Dallis said. “Library staff will routinely patrol the floors as well. There are emergency phones on floors two through five.”\nMost students responded to the changes with gratitude and relief. \n“I’m psyched,” freshman Amy Bastawros said. “I pretty much live at the library and now I won’t have to worry about finding a computer on the first floor now. They are usually packed down there.”\nFreshman Julie Ponce called the change a great idea.\n“I often found myself working at the library late at night,” Ponce said, “and being forced to move to the first floor of the west tower was always a bother. It’s always loud because it is a group working space. Having floors two through five will allow me to continue studying without noise.”\nStudents may also continue to check out books, laptops, headphones, calculators and other items offered during the day.\n“Students will have 24-hour access to more than 400 information databases from any of the workstations in the west tower, at home or on campus,” Dallis said.\nStill, library officials admitted there is at least one disadvantage of the library’s new hours.\n“Our custodial staff usually comes in at night, after the tower has been closed,” Walters said. “It’s going to be difficult for them to keep the floors clean.”\nDallis said she hopes students will understand that small disruptions such as vacuums will be unavoidable.\n“We’re hoping students can now work uninterrupted, without regard to hours,” Bartheld said. “Kind of like those casinos in Vegas where you don’t know what time it is – you just keep doing your thing.”