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January 2016

Teesside University Students’ Union

24 Hour Library Proposal

By Adam Howe, Vice-President Education

Teesside University Students’ Union 2015/2016

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Summary

This proposal recommends the opening hours of the library being extended to 24 hours a day, seven days a

week all year round allowing all students unlimited access to a safe and productive working environment

Introduction

The case for a 24 hour library came from research that my predecessor Ryan Marshall conducted during the

Summer Term in 2015 around student expectations of library opening hours including holiday periods. This,

as well as ongoing student feedback led to further research as part of “#24 Hours” campaign.

Current Library opening hours

The library is currently open 8am – midnight (Monday – Thursday) and 8am-8pm (Friday-Sunday) with

extended opening hours in the Summer Term to 2am (Monday – Thursday); out of term time opening hours

vary.

Key research findings

The research undertaken in the previous academic year stated that one third of respondents wanted the

Library to open between 5am and 6am and a further one third wanting the Library to remain open until

4am. Furthermore, nearly half of respondents were unable to access the Library and its resources due to the

current opening hours. This strongly supports 24 hour opening.

My #24 Hours campaign saw students from a range of years and courses across the university submit

responses to a number of questions. 96.89% of those students surveyed are in favour of 24 hour opening

across the year. 56.76% would like it in term 1, 85.14% in term 2 and 94.59% in term 3 (see appendix 1).

With the proposed shift to a semester model for academic delivery this would see two key assessment

periods thus further justifying the need to have 24 hour opening throughout the year.

Student Expectations

Students now expect a 24 hour library at their university and is now very much the norm in the Higher

Education sector. In the North East Northumbria, Newcastle, and Sunderland have a 24 hour library and the

business library at Durham University is also 24/7 making Teesside the only university in the region without

one. This could be a big factor that helps potential students choose which university to apply to and choose

as their firm choice. Other universities within the North East and Yorkshire such as Leeds Beckett, York St.

John, Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam also operate 24/7 libraries with some being open 365 days of the year.

A list of universities confirmed as having a 24/7 library can be found in appendix 2.

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257 Student comments were collected and highlight a number of different reasons why the library should

be open 24/7, out of these 257 comments only 7 of them are neutral or negative. One of the main points

that comes across is the that other buildings on campus are open 24 hours but are limited to students who

study in that particular school mainly SAM, SCM and SSE. This is beneficial to these students but leave

students from SOHSC and SSSBL without a 24 hour work area. Interestingly students who already have

access to the 24 hour buildings feel that they don’t have all the resources they need and would strongly

agree to having 24 hour access to the library. (See appendix 3 for the full list of student comments)

Benefits of a 24 Hour Library at Teesside

There are a number of benefits of having a 24 hour library at Teesside University which have been shown

throughout this proposal these include:

Bringing Teesside in line with other universities in the North East and the rest of the country

supporting student recruitment

Improving the NSS score of the Library and improve overall student satisfaction and academic

performance

Providing a 24 hour learning space for all students not just those who study on a course with a 24

hour buildings providing all students with equal access to resources and a high quality, consistent

student experience

Improving students perception of value for money

Caters for students with other responsibilities such as work, children and those who care for others –

a recent SU survey showed 25% of students have parenting or carer responsibilities

Allows students who undertake a placement as part of their course (particularly Health and Social

Care) access to resources outside of placement hours

Allows students who are more productive late at night to access resources and have a safe place to

work away from other distractions

The library already operates on a self-service system from 7pm where students must swipe their

TUSC to gain access to the library stopping non students from entering the building

Campus Security are located in the library and currently work 24/7

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Conclusion

This proposal has highlighted an overwhelming requirement for a 24 hour library and is also supported by

the Director of Library and Information Services Liz Jolly. It has highlighted how extending our opening hours

will bring us in line with a significant numbers of other universities in the UK including the rest of the North

East. It also brings into sharp relief the expectations of our students with regards to the value and

experience they receive for the fees that they pay.

This proposal has provided sound research that has been collected this academic year from our current

students which includes comments on why they want a 24 hour library. Mainly it highlights the need for all

students to be catered for and treated equally.

I fully support the students in their request for a 24 hour library and hope that you will look on this proposal

favourably.

Adam Howe

Vice-President Education 2015/16

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Appendix 1

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Appendix 2

Bangor University

University of Kent

Leicester University

University of East Anglia

University of Bradford

University of Bath

Swansea University

Aberystwyth University

University of Portsmouth

University of Keele

Leeds Beckett – 365 days a year

University of Birmingham

St. Mary’s University Twickenham

Liverpool University

Sheffield Hallam

York St John

University of Reading

Heriot-Watt University

Lancaster University

Wolves University

University of Manchester

Buckinghamshire New University

University of Plymouth

University of the Arts London

Hertfordshire University

University of West London

University of East London

Cardiff University

University of Lincoln

University of Sheffield – 2 24/7 libraries

Falmouth University

University of St Mark and St John

University of Nottingham

University of Bedfordshire

Edge Hill University

Westminster University

De Montfort University

Nottingham Trent

Kings College London

University of Sunderland

Newcastle University

Durham University

Northumbria University

List of Universities with a 24 hour library

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Appendix 3

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76430

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