In Need of Extended Library Hours

It all started two years ago, when I remember studying in one of the Hartt School classrooms. I am not a Hartt student so why was I there? It was because the Mortensen library was CLOSED. Usually I do my schoolwork at my dorm or office so the only time I actually go to the library is when I’m in the working mood. Yes, the library hours are pretty lengthy as it is, but who knew they closed at 6 P.M. on Friday’s and Saturday’s?

The University’s library hours are great, don’t get me wrong. The building is open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Monday’s to Thursday’s, but is only open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday’s and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. again on Saturday’s.

One day during that spring semester, my boyfriend and I felt the need to do some studying on a Saturday night. There wasn’t much going on that weekend, so we decided to get some work done for our classes. Like always, taking the long stroll all the way from Regents Park was exhausting, however we were able to watch the colored skies and sunset which was pretty nice. At the time it was probably around 7 P.M. (1 exact hour from when the library CLOSES) and we were looking forward to finish our work at a quiet and spacious environment. Sadly, that was not the case.

Not only did the library close on us, but because of this, it probably delayed our time by another hour (maybe even more) when it came to searching around the academic side of campus.

We usually go to Hillyer’s Shaw Center to study, but again the building was closed due to it being a weekend. Now to think about it, we probably walked every sidewalk there, just to go from building to building. The Hartt School was our last choice and luckily for us, music majors were studying in there as well.

Although we are both business majors, it was just really funny to have a piano right next to us while reading flashcards for an upcoming test. I couldn’t help but get distracted sometimes because all we really wanted to do was fool around and play the instruments in the classroom.

To students, some may like to study on the weekend for different reasons, this makes the library the only possible place to do work. Now that I am mainly off campus this year, Wi-Fi is not as great as the school’s. So thinking about going to the library and their unfortunate hours is a huge struggle, especially when the building sadly closes at 6 p.m. on Friday’s.