What a difference a set of doors can make. In the Alexander Library, a new set of doors means an additional 19 late-night hours of availability for a popular reading room.

Standard practice at the Alexander Library on weekday and Sunday nights was to close most areas of the building at midnight and to leave only designed study areas open for additional hours. This policy was prompted both by security needs and to secure the book collections, in recognition of the limited staff in the library during late night shifts.

For a number of years the practice necessitated closing the Graduate Reading Room as well, since the reading room was connected to the third floor book stacks by a large, door-less opening. The result was that after midnight students lost use of the 86 study carrels, 15 public computers, and 15 tables & chairs in the reading room - prime study and research space in the library.

At the request of Libraries Administration, over winter break the Facilities Department added a new set of doors to the opening between the third floor book stacks and the Graduate Reading Room. With this change the Libraries can now secure the third floor stacks and leave the Graduate Reading Room open for extended hours past midnight.

The Libraries are pleased to now make the Graduate Reading Room available for students' use for an additional 19 hours per week. The total hours of availability are:

• Sunday: Noon - 2:00 am
• Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 2:00 am
• Friday: 8:00 am - midnight
• Saturday: 10:00 am - midnight

For more information on library hours, at the Alexander Library and in all other libraries at Rutgers, please see our Spring semester hours.

For more information on study areas in the library, please speak with a staff person at the circulation desk or send a message to our Ask A Librarian service.