Administration should decide on library hours before Summer Break

Last fall, the university’s administration pulled a fast one on students, claiming that the most-prized building on campus — the W.T. Young Library — would stop being open 24 hours a day, five days a week. Instead, the library was to close at 2 a.m. and re-open at 7 a.m., during a time thought to be a low-attendance period.

Instead, through Student Government forums, students fought back, and thanks to donations from SG President Tyler Montell’s administration and Provost Kumble Subbaswammy, the university was able to keep the library open 24/5. But those donations can only keep the 24/5 status until July of this year.

Disaster revisited for both students and UK’s administration.

So far, the library has held one forum to gauge student reaction to having shortened library hours. The reaction was the same as the first time, but without funding donations, students were told it was likely the library would have to reduce its hours.

According to a Tuesday Kernel article, Pat Wilson, associate dean of UK Libraries, said that no decision had been made in regard to library hours. But waiting until the fall semester to make a decision would create the same type of uproar that was caused the first time. Making a decision during the summer, while many students are away, would be an awful decision that would start the Fall 2009 semester off badly.

Imagine a student trying to get into W.T. Young Library on the first night of school and being turned away, without any knowledge of an hours change. Now multiply that by 24,000. That’s the problem the administration would face.

With barely a week left until the spring semester ends, UK’s administration needs to decide now what they will do in relation to library hours. The advance knowledge would allow SG or other groups on campus to provide the funding needed to keep the library open 24/5, before available funding is used elsewhere.

In a meeting with the Kernel editorial board last week, Montell told the Kernel that he was leaving the incoming SG administration between $30,000 and $70,000 to use for next year. Incoming SG President Ryan Smith should take as much of that additional money as needed to keep W.T. Young Library open.

The students spoke last fall, saying they needed the largest and most resourceful library on campus to stay open. UK’s administration should make their funding needs known, or make a decision public now, while there’s still a chance to keep the library at its current hours.