Madden Library uses survey of 100 student leaders to determine peak hours

According to administrators, the decision on which hours to keep the library open this semester was made while considering a survey commissioned by Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) and the traditional use of the library.

The survey was given to student leaders across campus who represent different groups. Those students included club presidents, the University Student Union (USU) board of directors, the leadership council and others, according to ASI President Jessica Sweeten.

“It doesn’t represent every student, but it’s a good step in the right direction to the basic student voice,” ASI chief of staff Cole Rojewski said.

David A. Tyckoson, the associate dean of library services, said that the Henry Madden Library faced a budget reduction of $1 million this year compared to last year. That means the library buys fewer materials, is open fewer hours and employs fewer students, he said. Balancing the costs of library hours and services is always a problem, Tyckoson said.

Recently, some students questioned library accessibility.

On Friday, Nov. 23, over 90 students refused to leave the library after closing hours to protest the reduction of hours and what they saw as a lack of shared governance. In a press conference they held that night, they referenced the findings of the survey.

The students read from the survey, taken in July, and highlighted a discrepancy.

The library has recently offered more hours on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. However, the survey said that 69 percent of the students surveyed prefer the library open after 4 p.m. and as late as midnight.

Tyckoson, who’s in charge of library hours, said that students use the late library hours during the week.

“Historically, nobody has wanted to use the library late at night on Friday and Saturday,” he said. “They do the rest of the week.”

He said that more people would use the 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. hours on Saturdays, than would use later hours that same day. He said that the sensors just inside the library doors keep a “gate count” of people using the library.

A gate count taken from mid-September to mid-October of this year showed that the number of people using the library peaks from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then drops every hour after that. Tyckoson said that students are voting with their feet for the afternoon, rather than the evening.

Tyckoson said that the students at last month’s study-in wanted to make a point about having more library access.

“I’m sure that if we were open [later], somebody would be here,” Tyckoson said. “The question is how do we want to maximize the hours for the majority of people.”

Rojewski and Sweeten echoed this sentiment.

“We’re trying to capitalize on the hours that we’re given,” Rojewski said.

Rojewski, who collaborated with Sweeten to generate the survey, said that ASI has been in constant discussions with the library about hours since they took office.

He said that ASI is always advocating for more library hours.

Sweeten said that these discussions led to the survey’s necessity. She wanted some student feedback before going into a meeting with library officials.

She also said that an endowment created in 1996 has accrued interest and will go to opening the library on Saturday and extending hours throughout the spring semester.

Tyckoson said that those funds, as well as the stimulus money that extended the hours during finals will help the 2009-10 school year.

“[I] don’t know what the 2010-11 year is going to look like,” he said. “So, I’m sure we’ll have the same conversations again.”