Map, East Asian, Ames & Annex to Increase Hours
This fall the Libraries will be running a pilot program to experiment with extended hours for the Map Library, East Asian Library, Ames Library and the Annex. The goal is to increase the hours of access to these four collections within the confines of a modest budget.
To do this, two students from Wilson Stacks will be stationed at a central point at the bottom of the stairs during evening and weekend hours. There will also be a student stationed at the desk in the Map Library since we have a computer lab there. The students scheduled during these times are there to provide increased access to four collections. They will help patrons find materials with call numbers and answer directional questions, but they are not providing reference service. They will have a red phone so they can call the reference desk for quick help. More complex questions will be referred to the 1st floor reference desk. (The Map Library student will be able to offer some limited help to patrons in that collection.) The central students will report to Julia Kiple’s unit. The Maps student will report to the Map Library.
There will not be students or staff sitting within Ames, East Asian or the Annex. One of the students will always remain at the central point. The other will circulate through the collections and will page materials from the Annex. As you recall, the second security monitor hired last January covers only two floors the basement and sub-basement. This has worked out well. During the fall semester, security cameras will also be installed in the central corridor of the sub-basement (as well as other locations in Wilson Library). All of these measures are intended to provide security for people and collections.
The increased hours will have collections in the sub-basement open as follows:
* M-Th 9 a.m. 8 p.m.
* Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
* Sat. 1 p.m. 5 p.m.
* Sun 1 p.m. 5 p.m.
At the end of fall semester, we'll evaluate the pilot and decide whether to continue, modify, or discontinue based on data gathered during the fall.