By Erika Hunt

UK is examining its options for the W.T. Young Library’s operating hours next fall because of a lack of funding, library officials said at a forum Tuesday.

About 50 students gathered Tuesday evening in the W.T. Young Library’s The Hub for a staff and student forum to reintroduce the idea of cutting the library hours. A timeline for when such a decision would be made is unknown, said Carol Diedrichs, the dean of UK Libraries.

In the fall, the W.T. Young Library was closed between the hours of 2 and 7 a.m. for a short period of time.

In October, the library reopened to its current hours, open 24 hours Sunday through Thursday, closing at 8 p.m. Friday and open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Student Government gave about $10,000 of the $30,000 needed to keep extended hours at that time and the Office of the Provost paid the rest.

“UK permanently lost the money to keep the building open last July but after University of Kentucky students rallied in light of re-opening it, both Student Government and the Provost gave enough money to cover it,” Diedrichs said.

But come July, more money will be needed to support 24/5 hours for the library.

“The university asks us to present a budget that every year has to be reduced,” Diedrichs said. “Something does have to be cut and we have to figure out what that will be.”

SG and UK Libraries helped sponsor the forum to gather student opinion on an hours change.

First-year medical student David Ritchie said he opposed eliminating overnight library hours.

“As cost increases for tuition, people have to work more, arrive at the library later and still have to have a place to study,” Ritchie said. “We should, as students, consider paying an extra one to two dollars to have 24/5 access to thousands of dollars worth of resources. To me this is the simple solution, but not necessarily the popular one.”

During the forum, one person said she would not mind the change in library hours, saying it would require more time management on the part of students.

After the forum, Pat Wilson, an associate dean of UK Libraries, said she was informed that all of the staff actually heard things they had never heard discussed before.

Diedrichs said having students who care about the library’s hours is a good thing.

“In the end this is a good problem to have students who actually want to keep the library open,” she said.