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September 24, 2008, 01:09 PM ET
Ohio U. Bans Townsfolk From Library After Midnight, and Students Wonder Why
The student newspaper at Ohio University has a snarky little editorial about a small policy change at Ohio University’s library — specifically, that the library will bar entry for the Athens public between midnight and 8 a.m. Only students, staff, and faculty members will have access at that time.
College libraries, which can be highly popular gathering spaces, have had to grapple with the tough issues of public access — both to its physical space and to its Internet services.
The editorial says that the policy gives students unfettered access to computers late at night, then adds sarcastically: “Of course, there’s nothing to save the computers for diurnal students during peak library-usage hours.”
There’s more sarcasm about the policy: “On the surface, perhaps we should be thanking the university for its die-hard commitment to our ability to use library computers. They’re now on hourly patrol at night to make sure all library users are students and to ask those wayward miscreants without OU IDs to leave. Wanda Weinberg, head of research and instruction at Alden, told The Post that a student said that the policy made her feel more safe. (One might wonder, though, if said student really thinks that Athens residents are more of a danger than drunken male college students at 2 a.m. on a Thursday night.)” —Scott Carlson
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