Carleton’s MacOdrum Library debuted a 24-hour pilot program for midterm season that provided students with the opportunity to access library space around the clock from Oct. 14-22.
The project was the result of nearly a year of negotiations between the Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG) and the Carleton administration. The current Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) executive also campaigned during the February 2015 election on following through with the efforts of CASG and the past CUSA executive in ensuring the extended library hours program moved forward this academic year.
Students have long been requesting extended library hours, particularly during exam seasons. The MacOdrum Library has traditionally closed at midnight on weeknights and is open all night during exam seasons. In comparison, the University of Ottawa’s Morisset Library is open until 2 a.m. every day of the week, and remains open for 24 hours a day during exam periods.
“The exact usage numbers were kept by the library, and will be reported on at the next senate committee,” said CUSA president Fahd Alhattab. The numbers will not be available to the public before that time.
“There was a peak of students going over from midnight to 1 or 2 a.m., slowly dipping down,” Alhattab said. “What we’ve gotten from feedback is that 24 hours might not be the best scenario, but extended library hours might be the best case.”
The success of this nine-day pilot project is to be based on library usage between the hours of midnight to 8 a.m. If student traffic is found to have been high enough during this time period, a permanent extension of library hours during exam seasons could result in the future. Students were encouraged to provide feedback about their experience using the library during the extended hours by texting a message to CUSA via AirLoop.
Samantha Devenshaw, a second-year political science student, said she found the library’s longer hours to be helpful in preparing for midterms.
“Sometimes you just need a space to get you in the right mindset for studying, and your room or apartment doesn’t always provide that,” Devenshaw said. “I can get in the zone and study in a way that’s effective for me without having to worry about watching the clock for closing time.”
Though he didn’t take advantage of the library’s extended hours, first-year psychology student Dylan Moore said he thought it would be a good idea for the library to continue to offer the service during midterm and exam seasons in the future.
“I’m still living at home, but I can see how having extended library hours would be useful to students living in residence,” Moore said. “If you wanted to pull an all-nighter while studying, you could do so without having to worry about bothering your roommate.”
Though students were able to access the library for study space during the 24-hour pilot project, Alhattab said library staff was kept to a minimum, and services such as research and IT assistance were not available.
