Resolution 24-12: DON'T CLOSE THE BOOK
| Number | 24-12 |
| Description | Asks that UTA restores the Central Library's hour to 24/7 |
| Authored by |
Sawar Gupta, Areeb Khan |
| Sponsored by |
Sawar Gupta, Cydnee Lacy, Mustafa Al-Azawe, Marcus Otero, Aaliyah Duff, Erykah Agers, Yash Ajariwal |
| Date Submitted | Friday, August 30, 2024 |
| Date Considered | Wednesday, October 9, 2024 |
| Committee | Community Affairs |
| Result | n/a |
| Remarks | |
| Whereas | The UTA library recently changed its hours from 24/7 to 7 a.m. – 2 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. – 12 a.m. on weekends; and |
| Whereas | This decision faced significant backlash from students, faculty, and staff, leading to the start of an online petition that garnered 1,819 signatures within 4 days of the start of the semester and many students expressed that the central library was one of their deciding factors when choosing to attend UTA and |
| Whereas | The UTA library claims that this decision was made after considering three factors: lack of overnight users, student trends, and the strategic direction of transforming the library into a research-focused facility, this change goes against UTAs mission, vision, and values, most specifically UTA's mission emphasizes "providing access and ensuring student success" and promoting "lifelong learning” and limiting library hours reduces access to essential resources for students, especially those with irregular schedules, challenging home environments, or those needing a quiet study space, directly hindering their academic success and learning opportunities. and |
| Whereas | the UTA library’s claim regarding fewer overnight users is accurate, data from September 2023 shows that while fewer people swipe in overnight, a significant number still do. And while the strategic direction of shifting UTA towards a research library is welcomed but undermines the fact that research requires long hours of focused study, for which the 24/7 library is of utmost importance |
| Whereas | As of Fall 2022, UT Arlington enrolled 43,946 students, with about 10,000 students living on or near campus, with most sharing spaces with dorms and roommates. There is a lack of private and quiet areas to study late at night or how they feel most comfortable doing so. And whereas students need to maintain good sleep-study practices by separating where they work/study from where they sleep. |
| Be It Further Resolved That | UTA restore the Central library hours to 24/7 |