Ellis Library hours extended during finals week
Library expects an increase in student attendance during extended hours.
Published Sept. 17, 2010
Michelle Horan, former Missouri Students Association student affairs chairwoman, confirmed the extension of Ellis Library hours during finals week this semester.
Ellis Library will be open until 2 a.m. Dec. 9 through Dec. 11 and until 4 a.m. Dec. 12 through Dec. 16. The library will also be open until 6 p.m. on Dec. 17, the last day of finals.
“A lot of people normally study especially late, including myself, during that week when the workload is very high,” Horan said. “Students were already in the library until 2 a.m. (during finals) when the library normally closes.”
According to the Ellis Library student head count report from finals week last semester, library attendance peaked at 579 students at midnight on Sunday, May 9 and reached a low point with 29 students at midnight on Thursday, May 13.
“We discovered that there was a significant drop-off in numbers of students in the library on Fridays and Saturdays even though there might have been tests on Saturday mornings,” Director of Libraries James Cogswell said.
An increase in student numbers at Ellis Library during finals week is expected this semester. The library has already seen a significant increase in student numbers as counted by electronic turnstiles and head counts, Cogswell said.
The extension of library hours is not yet permanent but is planned to continue during finals week of spring semester as well as through finals weeks next academic year.
Horan said as long as students continue to make use of the extended hours, the extension should become permanent.
The extended hours would cost about $2,000 in staffing and utility costs, she said. All cost would be covered by proceeds from the Bookmark Cafe located within the library.
MU libraries spokeswoman Shannon Cary plans to work with Student Affairs to advertise the extended hours.
“We will advertise in all of the usual campus venues,” Cary said in an e-mail. “On our website and information kiosks and plasma screens in the Student Unions.”
Cary said the library would also use Facebook and Twitter as well as banners or signs outside its entrances to promote the extended hours.