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Todd Friedman | Phoenix Staff

Daniel Hwang makes use of McCabe Library’s new lockers, which were installed in June.

BY AMANDA KLAUSE

In print | Published September 11, 2008

Security in McCabe has become much tighter this year. During the month of June sixty lockers were installed in the library on the lower level and second and third floors.

The twenty lockers on the lower level are reserved for senior thesis students, but all other students can check out keys for the lockers on the second and third floor at the circulation desk for no fee.

Students are allowed to leave their belongings in the library during library hours. However, items that are left in the lockers overnight will be removed from the lockers and placed on the Student Belongings shelf.

Previously, students had only been able to store personal belongings on specially designated open shelves.

Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Stu Hain agreed that the installation was part of a general effort to improve campus security.

“The lockers were installed to give students the option of leaving their belongings in a secure place if they wanted to leave the library or use another part of the library unencumbered,” Hain said.
In recent years, as more people began to bring personal laptops to the library, concerns about theft have grown. Lending and Access Services Supervisor Alison Masterpasqua said she hopes that the lockers will reduce the number of thefts that occur at the library.

According to Masterpasqua, McCabe installed the lockers “because we noticed an increase in theft of personal belongings in the past couple of years.”

“The open nature of our previous storage system led to occasional thefts,” Masterpasqua said.
Students have already begun to recognize the benefits of the lockers. According to Masterpasqua, 23 students used the lockers within the first four days of classes. She added that so far, no thefts from lockers have been reported.

Melanie Spaulding ’09, who works at the circulation desk at the library, admits that although the lockers aren’t very popular yet, she has checked out keys to several students.

“During a regular shift, which is about two hours, I see two or three students coming to check out a key,” Spaulding said.

Students, even those who don’t live off campus, seem pleased with the new arrangement.

Bradley Fong ’10 finds the lockers convenient. “I don’t personally use the lockers much because I live in Wharton. I can see how they might be really useful for someone who lives in ML. But I also think the lockers are good because if you have to get up to get a drink you can put your laptop in one. It’s safer,” Fong said.

However, some students think that the lockers are redundant. Sarah Kroll ’11, who is living off campus for a second year, thinks the campus has better options.

“The lockers in McCabe are really more for leaving your stuff during a McCabe study break than as on-campus storage. I had a Parrish locker last year, which was great for storing my laptop on the days I had my radio show in the morning. I lived in ML, so when I wanted to be on campus all day, I sometimes left textbooks in my locker so I could pick them up after class to study,” Kroll said.
Kroll said students who live off campus and rely heavily on the Parrish lockers may not feel compelled to transfer their belongings to the new storage area in McCabe.

“As far as I know, there are still Parrish lockers for off-campus students this semester, so I don’t really see the point in using a McCabe locker when you can have a 24/7 personal locker in Parrish,” Kroll said.

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