Something I find difficult to get my head around is that the DCU library has the same weekend opening hours during exam time as the rest of the year.
We at DCU have to put up with the weekday opening hours while other colleges, such as Trinity, have a 24 hour library. Is there a reason behind this, and what is their necessity which overrides ours?
The opening hours are ridiculous when you take into account the 5pm closing times during the weekends directly before and during exam time.
Picture the familiar scene. It’s a Sunday evening and you have an exam at 9am the following day. You’ve just had a great day’s study in the library but it’s coming up to 5pm and you still have a lot to do before the exam, as would generally be the case for most students during exam time; who is going to be in a position to stop studying for their exam at five the previous evening?
We are being forced to pack our stuff away and return back home to finish off our preparations. The walk in itself is unsettling enough, and to try and come back and set up and go again would make you consider not going to the library at all.
My apartment isn’t an ideal environment for studying in and I imagine many student apartments are the same.It leaves me in trouble when trying to get in some last minute cramming.
Large sums are paid for security personnel around the campus, is it such a stretch to have one of them stationed in the library instead of a librarian on weekend evenings?
Common sense would dictate that seeing as DCU has such a large and impressive library that its opening hours should help accommodate students wanting to make the most of the structure.
As a final year student, I hope something can be done ahead of the summer exams so that the next batch of students don’t have to endure these inadequate opening times.
Jamie Gallagher is a Final year Psychology student in DCU.
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