Stauffer Library is now exclusive to Queen’s staff and students after dark.
Starting this fall term, individuals entering Joseph S. Stauffer Library after 10:00 p.m. must show their Queen’s ID to security upon enter the building. This procedural change was announced on the library’s website on Sept. 12 and went into full effect after students returned from fall reading week.
“This change in procedure underscores that late night library access is intended and reserved to meet the learning and research needs of Queen’s students, staff, and faculty,” Vice-Provost and University Librarian Mark Asberg wrote in a statement to The Journal.
According to Asberg, this decision was made after a yearly review of library hours and access procedures. He highlighted the library will still be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“This distinction between public hours and hours dedicated to exclusive use by students, staff, and faculty is routine in other university libraries across Ontario and has been considered for some time here at Queen’s,” Asberg said.
“I like the increased sense of security, especially since Stauffer gets pretty empty late at night. It’s nice to know that in those hours it’s just me and other students,” Gaby Villate, ArtSci ’27, said in a statement to The Journal.
While the library’s extended hours aim to provide Queen’s students with more time and space, students are also hopeful the new changes will enhance safety. Maya Malhotra, Nurs ’27, recalled being at Stauffer late one night, sharing an experience of feeling unsafe when an individual entered the building yelling.
Malhotra mentioned noticing non-Queen’s using library spaces late at night and expressed her enthusiasm for the new changes.
“I’m all for the change. Just to ensure that people are being safe and there’s no chance that anything can happen in the building,” Malhotra said.
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