Creating a 24-hour student study space is more complicated than just keeping the doors open all night, but it is not impossible, said Elaine Smyth, interim dean of LSU libraries.
A place for students to study that would be open all day, every day was one of the initiatives listed by the Experience LSU ticket going into the Student Government elections earlier this week. John Woodard, SG president, also asked about it at the recent Board of Supervisors meeting in Shreveport as the plans for renovations to Patrick F. Taylor Hall were presented to the board members.
However, the library is working closely with LSUPD, and Smyth said opening the library around the clock before the end of the calender year is possible but not certain, because it will take time and effort to work out the details.
Smyth said the issue with keeping Middleton Library open 24/7 all year round instead of just during finals each semester is security. If the doors were open all day, people could take advantage of or damage the library’s resources or harm students, Smyth said.
Smyth also said the library is working to find out how to better use its available space and has drawn up plans to expand student study spaces, open the library to the quad and make commonly browsed books more available to students.
The library was built in 1958, and had two additional stories added on in 1984, making it the tallest building in the quad.
The current plans are just ideas to improve the building, Smyth said, and they were originally a requirement for the University’s reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
The plans, which Smyth said she hopes to receive student input on in the future, increase the space for students by moving books into compact shelves, which hold twice as many volumes in the same amount of space, and rearranging the offices within the building.
Smyth said the Center for Academic Success’ offices and Supplemental Instructors’ spaces would be moved into Middleton directly above the Shell Tutorial Center. She also said windows could possibly be added to the building and the main entrance realigned so the library as a whole looks more like it belongs on the quad.
The project could take up to 10 years to complete because the library would need to continue to function while undergoing the renovations and rearrangements. Smyth said the plans for the 56-year-old building could be broken down into smaller phases, and funding would be need to be raised to complete each phase in turn.
The plans for increasing Middleton Library’s functionality still need to be approved by Stuart Bell, vice chancellor and provost before any finalized plans can be drawn and presented to raise funding for the project.