12 Days (and Nights) of Finals in the Frohring Library

With the Fall 2011 finals session drawing to a close, JCU’s Frohring Library looks back on a successful experiment, which saw opening hours extended until 2 AM for 12 consecutive days, from December 3rd to the 14th.

“Last year, we did a series of in-depth interviews to learn about our students, and almost all of them reported staying up late the night before a due date. If that is the case, our extended hours for finals (until 11 pm) just sounded inadequate,” said Elisabetta Morani, Head Librarian. In accordance with requests coming from Student Government, later opening hours were therefore adopted.

It required a big organizational effort, both for the guards monitoring the entrance and for the librarians, who were asked to work day and night shifts. To help students (and librarians) stay up, tea, coffee and panettone were served every night. “It would be too challenging for us to do it all year round” said Eleonora Moccia, Reference Librarian, “but for two weeks, it was doable.”

Results were excellent – attendance numbers averaged 56 students at 10 PM, 46 at 11:30 PM and 21 at 1:30 AM. “The library looked as crowded as always, actually. It normally takes so long before students learn about new services! But this time, word of mouth spread very fast,” Morani noted.

Thanks to the new opening times, students were able to work without the inevitable interruptions that occur during the day (classes, jobs, eating etc.). “When I have classes until 8 PM, I need to take a break before starting to study, and if the library closes at 10, there is just not enough time” said a degree-seeking student.

In the hope that the effort proved useful, the Librarians wish all JCU students good luck with their grades, and a happy holiday season.