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Opinion: Molstead Library should be open on the weekend

Opinion

Opinion: Molstead Library should be open on the weekend

It’s Saturday morning and I’m up at the crack of dawn. For us morning people, this is the time of peak mental performance.

What am I doing at 6 a.m. on a weekend? Trying to study. Not the easiest thing to do considering my living situation. I should be up to my neck in books at the library right now. But there’s one problem: the Molstead Library is closed.

For those of us who don’t have a suitable study space at home, or for those who relish the psychological enhancement of a library’s studious environment, this dilemma is a weekly frustration.

“We are merely asking for NIC to stand by its mission statement which commits to: student success, educational excellence, community engagement and lifelong learning. The restricted library hours directly impede three of these four values.” – Dave McKerracher

Maybe you’re thinking it serves me right for trying to get things done so early on a morning when most normal people are sleeping in. Perhaps my expectations are a little high. However, unlike every other college in Idaho, our library doesn’t open at all on Saturday.

The Molstead Library closes at 2:30 p.m. on Friday and doesn’t reopen until 1 p.m. on Sunday. This is not only a personal issue, because I am also speaking for many students who have shared their own frustrations about not having a weekend study space.

We are arguably the most committed students on campus, the minority who is primarily learning for its own sake, and/or sacrificing “free time” for academic and lifelong success:
We, the students of North Idaho College, have a library for studying in. Our tuition funds that building’s operation. For those of us who are up to our teeth in homework, our precious weekend hours are our only chance to get caught up.

Are we to understand that even with the recent spike in tuition that our educational institution still remains too impoverished to keep its library open over the weekend?

When the school accreditation council last visited and interviewed students, I shared my concerns regarding the library restrictions. They were perplexed that we are closed on Saturday, and “made note of it.”

I also raised this issue over a year ago with a member of the Board of Trustees, who said this was “concerning and worth looking into.”

Alex Rodal-Cubillas, one of our ASNIC senators, has made an “extended hours study center” his student-government project.

Rodal–Cubillas isn’t even asking for the library to be powered and staffed over the weekend, he’s simply trying to get something small like the Writing Center open over the weekend. Although he has been working on it for over a year he has made little to no progress.

Why no progress? “Not enough demand,” say the administrative staff. The minority of ambitious students and those who are not well-off enough to have suitable study space at home are so underrepresented, and apparently constitute such a small fraction of the student body that it is not considered worthwhile (profitable) to accommodate us.

This is not for lack of manpower. We have several overstaffed work study desks on campus. Why not have a few of the excess work study students work the library over the weekend?
I’m a work study student myself, with hours to spare and my weekends are available. I volunteer myself as tribute. Screw it: I’ll even do it for free!

Perhaps I’ve overlooked some tremendous cost in the budget this accommodation would involve. But it’s not like we’re asking for them to build a library, just allow us more access!

Honestly though, it doesn’t seem like cost is as much of an issue as priorities. Our student government has been working tirelessly for years to spend millions on a rec center.

Maybe we really ought to build an entirely new multimillion dollar recreational complex on campus, but not if this means the continued stifling of on-campus study life.

I mean, the gym and soccer field are open on Saturdays, while the one building offering the most educational enhancement denies us access on our only free days!

We are merely asking for NIC to stand by its mission statement which commits to: student success, educational excellence, community engagement and lifelong learning. The restricted library hours directly impede three of these four values.

In contrast, which of these goals is met by the sports facilities being open on the weekend? Community engagement–one out of four.

Perhaps it’s time we got our priorities straight.

I love soccer and volleyball, and there’s nothing like a basketball game to bring our community together. However, scholars are the true backbone of academia.

It’s time we put our money where our mouth is, and follow through to our commitment to enhancing student success, educational excellence, and lifelong learning.

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