Late-night bibliophiles find new home in 24-hour UC lab
By: Erica Horton
Issue date: 3/30/10 Section: News
After 16 years of 24-hour service at the Ned R. McWherter Library, the learning commons now closes at midnight, leaving the University Center as the only 24-hour computer lab on campus.
Previously, the second to fourth floors of the library closed at midnight, and the first floor, the commons, was open 24 hours. Now all floors of the library close at midnight Monday through Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday.
In response, almost 700 University of Memphis students have joined a Facebook protest group, "Make the McWherter Library 24/7 again."
Susan Dalton, sophomore public relations major and member of the online group, said it would be ideal if both the library and the UC lab could stay open all night long because the UC lab is more of a social environment than a study environment.
"When I go to the library, I actually sit there and focus," Dalton said. "In the UC, I'm likely to be unproductive. There are no study rooms. It's crammed, and it's a pain to get to."
Dean of University Libraries Sylverna Ford said one of the reasons McWherter is no longer open 24 hours a day is that the UC lab has 80 computer terminals, while the first floor library commons has only 46.
Between the hours of midnight and 7 a.m., computer usage drops significantly, she said. It is more cost-effective to keep the UC open rather than the library, which Ford said was never at capacity.
"This building was never built to be a 24/7 place," Ford said of the 16-year-old library. "It's not a secure closing. We would find people wandering around on the other floors which were supposed to be closed."
Students who want to pull all-nighters can now go to the Technology Hub on the second floor of the UC, which, after 11 p.m., is only accessible through the third floor of the Zach Curlin Parking Garage.
Park said the library hasn't been as busy since the UC opened.
Freshman political science major Emma Sulkowski said that as a Richardson Towers resident, she misses the convenience of the library.
Previously, the second to fourth floors of the library closed at midnight, and the first floor, the commons, was open 24 hours. Now all floors of the library close at midnight Monday through Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday.
In response, almost 700 University of Memphis students have joined a Facebook protest group, "Make the McWherter Library 24/7 again."
Susan Dalton, sophomore public relations major and member of the online group, said it would be ideal if both the library and the UC lab could stay open all night long because the UC lab is more of a social environment than a study environment.
"When I go to the library, I actually sit there and focus," Dalton said. "In the UC, I'm likely to be unproductive. There are no study rooms. It's crammed, and it's a pain to get to."
Dean of University Libraries Sylverna Ford said one of the reasons McWherter is no longer open 24 hours a day is that the UC lab has 80 computer terminals, while the first floor library commons has only 46.
Between the hours of midnight and 7 a.m., computer usage drops significantly, she said. It is more cost-effective to keep the UC open rather than the library, which Ford said was never at capacity.
"This building was never built to be a 24/7 place," Ford said of the 16-year-old library. "It's not a secure closing. We would find people wandering around on the other floors which were supposed to be closed."
Students who want to pull all-nighters can now go to the Technology Hub on the second floor of the UC, which, after 11 p.m., is only accessible through the third floor of the Zach Curlin Parking Garage.
Park said the library hasn't been as busy since the UC opened.
Freshman political science major Emma Sulkowski said that as a Richardson Towers resident, she misses the convenience of the library.