Last semester, the Torreyson Library hours were refined from being open 24 hours a day to being open 7 a.m. to midnight, and many students suffered because of it. 

The library offers many valuable resources from textbooks and databases to study rooms, printers and computers, but the loss of its 24-hour availability has been a huge disservice to students. 

Richard Hayman of Mount Royal University conducted a study on the use of the overnight library at Kent State University. 

The result of the study was that “researchers do conclusively connect the availability of late night hours to student retention and academic success.”

The study found that late-night-hour services have a positive impact on students’ ability to retain the information they learned and on their overall academic accomplishment. 

Library extension hours can have a positive impact on students’ academic life as well as helping students to study at times most suitable to them.

Not all students operate on the same schedule, so having a study place open at night was a great opportunity for students.

When the library was open 24 hours, I would often be there until 2 or 3 a.m. working on assignments or editing articles — this was prime work time for me and the library was the perfect place for me to sit down and really get stuff done. 

This is especially true for students who work the night shift.

 After getting off work, I would go to the library and study. 

However, there is no longer enough time for me and many other students to do so now that the library closes at midnight. 

With the schedule change last semester, I only went to the library a handful of times because it no longer fit into my schedule. 

This has been a disadvantage for me because it can be hard to focus on assignments in other environments such as a dorm room or other shared spaces that are not dedicated to academic work. 

When the library was open 24 hours during the school week, the prime time to get work done was 2 a.m. in a booth on the second floor of the library. 

My productivity has never been higher than when I was sitting in the library in the middle of the night. 

Although I am sure the university has its reasons for trimming the library hours — whether it be a lack of staff or security reasons —  it would be extremely beneficial to at least come to a compromise with students who want the old schedule back.

During finals week, the library is typically open till 2 a.m. It would be beneficial to have the library open regularly till 2 a.m. for students who need it. 

For some students, the library is the only quiet place for them to comfortably focus on their academic work.

Expanding the library hours back to 24 hours would allow for busy students and night owls to have their study place back. 

The library was the only place that granted students 24-hour access and now that access is gone.