BY LAUREN MENDOZA

In print | Published November 29, 2007

Recently, certain students have asked the administration and McCabe Library to consider keeping the library open to students for additional hours on school nights. Some students who are often in McCabe until the last closing buzzer rings are ecstatic about this possibility. However, this change in Swarthmore’s most frequented library would not necessarily be an improvement for students. While there are definitely several benefits for some students who spend many late hours in the library, it’s important that the drawbacks are not ignored.

Having McCabe opened for extra late night hours is great for students who like to have somewhere around 750,000 volumes available to write their papers, theses, or research projects, and who typically work late into the night. Extra hours obviously mean more time allowed for students to work late in McCabe, using the numerous resources made available to them that they can’t find anywhere else on campus.

The space in McCabe is great for both individual and group work. There are quiet areas available for students who work best without distractions. The lounge on the main floor provides a comfortable space for students to talk and relax, as well as work with other students for group projects. This provides a more desirable work situation than a group trying to get together in a dorm room to do work, where space and resources are limited.

If McCabe were open until two or three in the morning, students wouldn’t have to worry about their homework being interrupted by McCabe closing or those hideous buzzers until later, giving students who work late into the night a space to finish their work before heading back to their dorm rooms. For students whose roommates sleep early or those who live in Willets and need a more peaceful study environment to work efficiently, a late-night library offers them the perfect solution.

But despite the advantages that later McCabe hours would offer, there are also considerable disadvantages. Most students generally work more efficiently and are less likely to procrastinate when they know they have a limited amount of time to complete it. McCabe staying open later would only give Swatties an excuse to loiter in the library longer and return to their dorms later, causing them to spend more of their time in McCabe and less time sleeping. For students who need books available to them for research papers, they can use their student library cards to check out as many books as they want and take them to another study space or their rooms. Bringing a book bag, checking books out, and taking them home with you isn’t all that difficult. And for those who find they needed to check out more books than they expected, the librarians often have a small supply of plastic bags for students to carry their heavy load of books.

With longer McCabe hours, the late night librarians and student workers would either have to work later hours, staying until after 2 or 3 a.m., or the library would have to hire more staff. As a courtesy to the staff, a handful of students shouldn’t demand an unnecessary service and force library workers to stay even later than they already do. Also, by paying the librarians or hiring more staff for the longer hours, the college will be spending more money to cover the costs of salary. Further costs would include payments for the additional utilities used during the extra hours such as water, electricity, and even the extra Rice Krispies treats and assorted snacks that the library provides for students who study late in McCabe. The college could use this money to do anything else, so why should they spend all this extra money on a service of convenience for a few McCabe addicts?

Later McCabe hours would only be truly necessary if there were no other available study spaces for students after 1 a.m. But this is not the case. Students can find quiet spaces to study throughout campus, such as dorm lounges, Parrish Parlors, and academic buildings that are open 24 hours a day, such as the Science Center. The Science Center has vending machines, comfortable couches and chairs, wireless Internet, and various quiet spaces for studying. Having to walk the extra three minutes to the Science Center from McCabe to do work at night is not the end of the world. If it’s the lack of security walking around that part of campus late at night that bothers you, then studying in your dorm or starting work earlier is always an option. You will finish your work sooner, and will be able to spend your time doing something besides readings and problem sets, like bonding with your roommate, showering, or even sleeping.

The college is not insensitive to students’ rigorous workloads or excessive study needs. They know how hard you work, considering it’s one of the reasons you are here in the first place. The college accommodates students with later McCabe hours during reading week and finals at the end of each semester, the times when many students need extra work hours the most.

McCabe is my study space of choice. The librarians are enthusiastic and helpful, the lounge offers a place to see the friendly faces of my fellow work-afflicted peers, the library enforces quiet work environments in the basement and upper levels, and I have an entire building of research materials for work right at my fingertips. But despite my love for McCabe, I do not want to spend any more time there than I already do. McCabe is always looking for ways to improve itself for students, so if a sufficient number of Swatties want a space in McCabe for later hours, then the college should try to accommodate them. Instead of demanding extra hours, a trial run of McCabe staying open later is a more reasonable way to see if this change would be worth all the extra work for the majority of the students. If enough Swatties make use of the space, then McCabe staying open longer makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is students staying later and wasting the time by merely hanging out, sleeping, playing Tetris on their computer, etc. If a trial works out, then students have a safe, comfortable center to do their work late at night. But if it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world. McCabe is already open for 16.5 hours of the day. If that’s not enough time to get work done, then the problem is study habits, and an extra hour or two is not going to help.

Lauren is a sophomore. You can reach her at lmendoz1@swarthmore.edu.

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