Students can peruse books and pore over notes in the haven of Middleton Library during extended weekend hours beginning Saturday.
Middleton Library will now be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. That’s four hours longer than Middleton’s current weekend hours, but the library will still be closed on gameday Saturdays.
The time extension was former Student Government President J Hudson and Vice President Dani Borel’s initiative, and Thomas Rodgers, SG director of academics and mass communication junior, helped carry it to fruition.
“We will see if this is well-received by students and if they come to use the facilities and services during the additional hours,” said Jennifer Cargill, dean of libraries, in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille.
Rodgers said he looked at the University’s peer institutions identified in the Flagship 2020 agenda and compared their library hours to the University’s.
He observed other institutions had longer weekend hours, and some were open 24 hours.
Spencer McNab, landscape architecture graduate student, said he attended the University of Tennessee as an undergraduate, where the library was open 24 hours. He said it was helpful for extra studying, especially before exams.
“A lot of our peer institutions have 24-hour libraries, but at this time it’s not feasible, and there’s not demand,” Rodgers said.
Lexi Schlamp, undeclared freshman, said the hour change will help serious students who want to devote their weekends to studying or who want to seek help from Middleton’s volumes.
Ali LeBlanc, elementary education senior, said as a commuting student, the hour change will not affect her, but it could be beneficial for students living on or near campus.
Cargill said the library’s budget will pay for the additional hours, and there should be “minimal