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For the first time, Zimmerman Library is opening its doors to students around the clock for five days a week.
University Libraries Associate Dean Nancy Dennis said that as of Sunday, Zimmerman will open at noon on Sundays and stay open continuously until 9 p.m. on Fridays.
In the past, Zimmerman was only open until 2 a.m., but after a number of student requests and initiatives from student leadership during the past year, the hours were extended, Dennis said. She said this extension of hours was driven by students’ need to make Zimmerman more accessible.
“A lot of students are working jobs,” she said. “They have family obligations (and) their only study time is late at night. If we can provide a space for them and help them succeed and complete their coursework, that is very positive.”
UNM student Ashleigh Reyna said Zimmerman’s new hours will make it easier for her to use the library.
“I work at the 24-hour student residence center desk,” she said. “I’m at work or in class from 10 in the morning all the way until 8 at night. Not having to worry whether or not the library is still open will make things a lot easier.”
Reyna said she uses the library at least four times a week to access texts required for her psychology classes and that she uses the library’s computers because she does not have Internet access at home. She said that due to her hectic schedule, being able to enter the library at any time will possibly help her do better in class.
“I like to do homework any time that I have time. I try not to do too much of it at work, during which the library is open. But then I can now try to go the library to do homework,” she said.
“Although (dorm residents) have access to computer pods, printing and Internet (24 hours per day), they don’t necessarily have access to the materials that they might need to get in the library.”
Dennis said students who live on campus will benefit from the extended hours of operation.
“If you live in a dorm, as many people do … sometimes it’s not very quiet. Roommates are doing something noisy and you just want some space,” she said. “Our sense of it is that students want a place to go for night study where it’s quiet, secure (and) comfortable.”
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Only UNM students are allowed access to the library after regular hours and library staff will ask nonstudent users to leave the building at 10 p.m. Students will need to bring their Lobo ID to enter and stay until morning.
ASUNM began lobbying to the administration last year for the extension of Zimmerman’s hours. Dennis said discussions were held in the annual meeting of the Student Fee Review Board, and the University approved the plan earlier this year.
Dennis said Zimmerman Library received approximately $100,000 from the University to facilitate the extension of its hours for fall 2012 and spring 2013. But she said that although she’s optimistic that the library’s new hours will appeal to students, funding has not yet been secured for the library’s extended hours of operation next year.
“I think it was very responsive to student needs that they found a way to fund it,” she said. “It’s a win-win for students that we were able to accommodate their request and give it a try.”
Dennis said the University has employed three more staff members and a security guard for the new night shift and that student employees will work extended hours to ensure there will always be somebody in the front desk to assist students with the library’s facilities.
But she said that in an effort to limit electricity and air conditioning usage, half of the lobby will close once Starbucks closes at 11:30 p.m., and at that point students will only have access to the west wing of the library. She said the west wing has a capacity of 200 students and contains four computers and copiers, and so it can accommodate these students efficiently.
“We try to find a balance between keeping the library open 24 hours and also preserving lights and air conditioning, and that sort of thing,” she said.
