It’s 11 p.m. on a Wednesday and you have a test to study for, so you’re probably at Founders Memorial Library. Unless it is near midterms or finals, though, you only have one hour left to study.

After studying at the library, you may head home off campus, probably not the most ideal place to study. If you live in the residence halls, there are places to study, yes, but quiet, probably not. This is a major problem.

Founders Memorial Library has many resources for its students, such as the Writing Center, countless computers, extensive study space, smart classrooms and the Founder’s Cafe. But some students may find it difficult to utilize these resources if they have a conflicting schedule. According to Adprima.com, a Web site for new and future educators, the best time to study is when “you are rested, alert, and have planned for it.” But because college students are sometimes none of those things, it may be hard to find an appropriate time to study.

Not only is the library a place to study, it is supposed to be a place where one can go on their own time.

“My routine has been dismantled because I start to study between the hours of 9 and 10 p.m.,” said Ciera Davis junior computer science major. “It’s very inconvenient to only be able to study until 12 a.m. in the best place to study on campus.”

During midterms and finals the library has longer hours, operating until 2 a.m. This may not help, though, because if most of your studying is done before midterms and finals, the extra hours would only be review, and those who do not study during regular semester weeks would only be cramming.

What is unclear to most NIU students is the reason why the hours were changed.

“There was extensive research done concerning the issue, starting in January 2009,” said Patrick Dawson the Dean of Founders Memorial Library “Sunday through Thursday, Founders Memorial Library was open a total of 114.5 hours a week [in the 2008-2009 academic year, while] peer universities, such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Southern Illinois University were open only a total of 96 hours a week.”

While the hours were shortened, the total hours a week for the 2009-2010 academic year is 104.5, which is only 10 hours less per week. These hours rank Northern Illinois University at No. 2 out of 12 Midwest universities library operating hours, Dawson said.

Head counts were also conducted at 2 a.m.

“There were only 5 to 9 people in the library,” Dawson said.

Energy saving was also a major factor in the decision.

“It didn’t make sense to keep it open when only a handful of people were using the library” Dawson said.

The library is mainly for students, but students didn’t offer their voice in the final decision. In the past, focus groups have been created to get students opinion on issues that directly affect them.
“Every time we’ve done focus groups no one has showed up,” Dawson said.

This statement says it all. The library based their decisions on previous occasions.
If students are not active in opportunities like focus groups, there go our voices, opinions and views on important issues.

From this information, it is clear that our university made a decision without student input.
For now, the hours of Founders Memorial Library will probably not change, but an overwhelming amount of students in the library late at night would show the university that there is a need for longer operating hours. Until then, the library will be open from 7:30 a.m. until midnight Monday through Thursday.

The problem still remains, though, of where students can study after midnight.

If not the library, then an alternate, convenient location needs to be established that is cost efficient and serves students effectively.

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