In Chapel Hill these days, you can’t count on a McDonald’s to be open 24 hours. Instead, you should probably take your business elsewhere, like to the southern charm of Time Out.
For students with bustling happenings and Google Calendar scheduled items going on, there’s no place open 24 hours that we can go to, no place to host our late-night study sessions and early morning pre-midterm-freakouts. Not even one of the UNC University Libraries. UNC students need an overnight library — it’s long overdue.
It wasn’t always this way. When the Undergraduate Library opened in 1968, it was a 24-hour hub for students to think, relax, socialize and even avoid sleep. This changed when COVID-19 hit and the hours and funding for UNC University Libraries were reduced. Now the UL is only reliable until 10 p.m.
I don’t necessarily enjoy having to spend a late night at the library, but it has allowed me to have some of my independent breakthroughs. It’s where the classical music melodizing in my AirPods conveniently agreed with my brain to let me understand a problem set that was due the next morning. It’s where I finally got to creating my script for a presentation I had in my recitation the next day.
The past two years at UNC have forced me to return home after Davis Library, which of the campus libraries stays open latest, closes at 2 a.m. to my bedroom, my dorm lounge or the lobby of my building. None of these spots were guaranteed to be quiet. At all of these places, I’ve never totally felt in my element and comfortable while studying — something a library succeeds in.
I advocate for a 24-hour library not to promote all-nighters or addictions to Celsius. However, sometimes after a full day of classes, clubs and jobs, setting aside enough time to meaningfully complete work or systematically review for an exam calls for being there past close
Looking at the 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekday schedule of Davis Library, these confined hours limit access for individuals with demanding schedules, like those with full-time jobs or caregiving responsibilities, creating barriers for these groups to fully benefit from its resources.
In addition, some students are nocturnal and just need a place. The rigid hours of the UNC libraries do not support the diverse learning styles of this campus. A 24-hour library would enable more equal access for all students to campus amenities.
Past studies and academic literature have found that the number of students’ visits to the library is positively correlated to their GPA. Moreover, students who go to the library do better academically than students who do not. A study at Bellarmine University in Louisville revealed that library use is positively related to higher GPAs and student retention rates. The study demonstrated that no matter the use, whether for its resources, services, staff or just physical space, the library unequivocally supports students.
