By Jill Seelmeyer

As the fall semester begins, students can rest assured that the W.  T. Young Library hours will remain the same as last semester.

Beginning Sept. 13, the library will be open 24 hours five days a week, while closing at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It will open at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and at noon on Sundays, according to UK’s Web site.

Cash savings within the library’s budget will keep the 24/5 hours for this academic year and will keep statistics through the year with a reevaluation planned for the next academic year, said Pat Wilson, an associate dean of UK Libraries.

The library did not obtain additional funding from the Provost for this semester, Wilson said.

Last October, a decision was made to close the library at 2 a.m. and reopen at 7 a.m. However, after much student protest, Student Government and the Provost provided funding to keep the library open on the 24/5 schedule, according to an Oct. 2008 Kernel article.

SG President Ryan Smith and Vice President Kelsey Hayes met with several library deans and associate deans at the end of last semester to discuss library hours for this fall, Smith said.

“We were committed to making it happen and working with the Provost office,” he said.

During the meeting, Smith expressed that the W.T. Young Library is the library primarily used by students, and students want to see it open, he said.

The final decision to keep the library open 24/5 was made in mid-July, when the budget was put forth for the next fiscal year.

After the final decision was made about the hours not being evaluated again until next July, Smith was notified by an e-mail, he said.

Previously, SG had been asked to give $10,000 to maintain the library hours, however they will not be required to provide any funding this school year.

“We are extremely happy to be able to delegate the $10,000 to other places,” Smith said.

If unexpected costs occur, SG is prepared to allocate funding as necessary to maintain the 24/5 hours, Smith said.