“The results of a recent poll indicated that people are unhappy about the hours during weekends”, said Ineke van der Kramer, head of the Education Support department. The library was open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on weekends and public holidays until now. But in May and June, it will be open every day of the week, including weekends and holidays, from 8 a.m. to midnight.
“Our first driver is always that we actually have people using the library and they really want this”, says Van der Kramer. The new opening hours are a pilot for now. “If no one is showing up in the evenings after 9 o’clock, it’s a waste of time.”
Clean toilet
Van der Kramer also emphasises the importance of university service facilities during this trial period. “It’s not only a study spot but you need coffee, you need places to dump your waste, to go to a clean toilet, so our facility services need to be able to keep up that service too.”
But despite the extra costs, the library will bear in mind feedback from students following the pilot, according to Van der Kramer. “With thirty-six thousand students and a structural shortage of study spaces, we can help them make a choice that suits them best.” After June, if the pilot succeeds, the library is willing to make longer hours possible for students full time.
