For students who prefer to study past 11 p.m., Golda Meir Library is not an option.

The only 24-hour resource on campus is the Engineering and Mathematical Sciences lab, but it doesn’t offer the resources the library does.

The library’s operating hours are on a long list with other concerns that the staff of the Golda Meir Library addresses on a daily basis, said Vanaja Menon, assistant director of libraries of the Libraries Public Services Division.

Not only are library hours a problem for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee staff and students, but a variety of the library’s resources have been strained as well, Menon said.

Much of the library’s staff has been forced to assimilate into other areas and embrace many tasks. Where there was once two people available for two jobs, there might be only one person now, Menon said.

“State budget appropriations to UWM have been considerably diminished in recent years,” Menon said. “Naturally the library’s budget has also suffered.”

Budget cuts

It comes down to the state deciding what the university gets and the campus budget committee decides what portion of state funds are allocated to the library.

“When it comes to budget cuts, decisions have to be made,” Menon said.

Golda Meir had a short-lived effort at a 24-hour hotspot for campus night owls that lasted from fall 1996 until summer 2000 before finally succumbing to budget cuts.

A crucial year in state budget cuts, 1999 adversely affected UWM’s expected funds. Although the lab was sustained with funds from the educational technology fee that students pay as part of their tuition, other programs were found to be “more appropriate” recipients of available funds. EMS was proposed as a larger alternative, so the lab was moved there.

When looking at the use pattern for the library’s services and programs, services that are low in participants become scrutinized, Menon said.

Gate counts were performed upon entering and leaving the west wing of the library. There was a large use deficiency between the hours of 7 and 8 a.m. and around 3 p.m. At about 11 p.m., counts significantly decreased.

With that in mind during the 2002-’03 budget cut, the library decided to cut 11 1/2 hours per week. It was decided that the library would close Sunday though Thursday at 11 p.m.

During 2003-’04, focus groups researched and, as a result, better seating areas in the west wing lobby and browsing areas as well as the coffee shop in the east wing were a result of these efforts. Menon said UWM “obviously” wasn’t the only hard hit university in the country.

She and her colleagues researched comparable universities in the nation, known as the “Urban 21,” and found that it fared quite well despite being lower in staff count in regard to operating hours per week. Some of the universities considered were the University of Illinois-Chicago, Cleveland State University and the University of Cincinnati.

During the budget cuts, various journal subscriptions were also cut.

“Some were just too expensive,” Menon said.

Others suffered from low use shown by circulation statistics.

New programs

In an effort to counter the negativity provided by the budget cuts, a program called Desktop Electronic Delivery of Journal Articles was implemented.

Individuals looking for an article or a journal to which the library does not subscribe have a few options. The library may be able to get that article or journal though the inter-library loan system by the student’s request. Otherwise it might be able to purchase only that article or loan.

Menon stressed that the library committee and directors are encouraging students to use the library as much as possible.

Two other notable programs to enhance the lives of students on behalf of the library are currently in the works. The first is a laptop loan program that would provide at least four-hour time allowances for around 30 used laptops. The second option being discussed is extending the library’s hours by one hour Sundays through Thursdays.

Menon said keeping the library open until 1 a.m. has also been discussed but is simply unrealistic at this time given the budget constraints.

If programs are to be implemented, there needs to be long-term support. She said simply putting programs into existence and pulling them out shortly thereafter isn’t the way to go.

Elsewhere in Milwaukee

Marquette University keeps two of its floors open until 2 a.m. and the first floor remains open 24 hours. Both UWM and the Milwaukee School of Engineering close at 11 p.m. while Milwaukee Area Technical College and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design libraries are only open until 9 p.m.

The only state-funded library to be open 24 hours is the University of Wisconsin library. That too was a battle in its own, said Carrie Kruse, director of the UW College Library.

“Four years ago, the students on campus mounted a strong campaign (through the student government) for a 24-hour library,” Kruse said.

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