Susanna Wood reports on the UEA Library's new 24 hour opening times.
UEA students have reacted positively to the Library’s new 24/7 opening hours.
A trial period of the 24/7 opening will run from 16 January to July 2012, and will include bank holidays and the Easter break. The initiative should help to ease pressure on Library resources during periods of heavy use. The Library will also be open continually at weekends in response to complaints about the late opening time of 11am on Saturdays and Sundays.
The changes come a year after the “techpocalypse,” when information and Library services crashed in December 2010 causing much disruption for UEA students and staff.
Nicholas Lewis, the Director of Library Services, told Concrete: “The Library 24/7 trial has been initiated by the University in response to student feedback through various surveys including the NSS and postgraduate surveys. It should help all those who prefer to study uninterrupted at night and early morning, for example. In particular, it aims to support students who may find it difficult to access the Library during standard hours, perhaps owing to work placements, family or work commitments.”
The Library has also unveiled several new initiatives to help students make the most of its resources. One of these, the “more books” initiative, is designed to make it easy for students to let the Library know if they need books which are currently unavailable. The Library is making forays into social media as students can now tweet the books they want, along with the hashtag #UEAlibrary. The Library is also publicising its wireless printing facilities, which allow students to print work on the Library printers from their laptops.
The Union of UEA Students has also responded enthusiastically to the improvements, with Academic Officer Meg Evans telling Concrete: “The new Library opening times could be really positive for students. The Union is pleased that the Library has responded to feedback from students and we’d love to hear what students think about the changes.”
Mr Lewis added: “Whether 24/7 will continue depends on how much the service is used during the trial period, so please do use it and give us your feedback.”
Photo by Laura Smith.