When Martha Bedard took over as dean of University Libraries a year ago, one of her goals was to extend the hours of UNM's libraries.
She's one step closer thanks to a $200,000 allocation in the budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Bedard said getting funding is the first step in the process.
"One of the things we're in the middle of is a survey process," she said. "From there, we'll be able to assess exactly what the students' needs are. This summer, we'd need a few months to hire and train new employees, and if all goes as planned, we expect to implement by fall semester 2008."
Bedard said the survey will poll students about library usage and the need for extended hours.
She said she will make a decision that reflects the preference of the majority of students.
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Kim Kloeppel, Student Affairs fiscal and planning officer, was put in charge of compiling the survey.
Kloeppel said she expects to have the survey ready for distribution by April 18.
"I still need input as to whether they would like a Web-based survey, or if they want people to go around with PDAs, or a combination of both," she said. "Regardless, I'll have the results instantly and need a little time to analyze the data, but I expect the results sometime during finals week."
Bedard said students' voices are essential to the process.
"We want student input on a lot of issues regarding extending library hours," she said. "One of the questions is whether it should be Zimmerman or if it is too big of an environment to secure for too few people."
Bedard said extending library hours in Parish Library might not be a bad idea.
"Parish is smaller and would be much easier to secure," she said. "It may have an adequate number of computers. If not, it may be less expensive to buy more computers for that area. Plus, it's adjacent to parking, and so folks could park in the area without being ticketed."
Bedard said the question of a 24-hour library is another item up for debate.
"We find that students don't want to come in and study on Friday nights, and they don't want to come in on Saturday mornings," she said. "Maybe simply extending library hours will be of more value to students."
ASUNM Vice President Matt Barnes said it is important for students to voice their opinions.
"The whole initiative started by talking to students and listening to their concerns," he said. "We've all been there - when you need that extra hour to study at 1 or 2 a.m. So many students go to Frontier to do homework, and that's not good when you are relying on places off-campus that don't necessarily have the resources available in the library."
