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Library alters hours of operation for Spring 2021

The M.D. Anderson Library will have new hours of operation, effective Jan. 19, and will open wings previously closed due to the pandemic for the upcoming spring semester.

The library will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and will be closed on Sundays.

Adjustments to these hours for finals season will be finalized after Spring Break, said head of Information and Access Services Andrew Hilyer.

The library will reopen every floor of the Brown Wing, as well as floors three through six of the Blue Wing. Floors seven and eight in the Blue Wing as well as the basement will remain closed, Hilyer said. 

“We analyzed visitor count data from last semester, along with data on the types of class delivery (online, hybrid and face-to-face) students were enrolled in,” Hilyer said. “We used that information along with University guidance and health and safety protocols to help us determine the schedule.” 

Wednesday’s extended hours are meant to be helpful for students with other commitments who may not be available during normal day hours, Hilyer said.

The longer hours of operation are convenient for students like biology junior Destiny Iwuh, who prefers the library open longer to safely study with classmates. 

“I’m pretty sure they close at 3:00, I’m not going to wake up at 8:00 to go to the library,” Iwuh said.

“I’m in an (organization) and I possibly wanted to make an event where it would be a study type night for our members to study together. I wish they were open longer. I study in my room and the only reason I went to the library was to study with other people but I can’t really do that now,” Iwuh added.

For other students, the library serves as a good place for getting work done on their own, including integrated communication freshman Kylie Lavinski.

“For me, (the library) offers a lot of focus when you go into the individual study room because it’s just quiet,” Lavinski said. “It’s an easy place to zen out and get what you need to get done because there are no distractions.” 

Despite the library hours being adjusted and more floors opening for public use, some students are still hesitant of the lingering pandemic. Biology junior Yusuf Khan is one of them. 

“My room is good enough to study in and the library might expose me to (COVID-19), so I don’t want to go there and risk exposing myself,” Khan said. “For me in particular, it’s not an issue, but I have family members and I don’t want to expose them.” 

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