The library is and will always be a great place to study. That is, after all, what it is meant for in addition to using books and the media center. However, if it’s not open for students to study, what’s the use?
At CHS, the library closes at 4 pm, leaving hardly an hour of work time after the last school period ends. For those who usually stay after school, whether it be because they cannot get a ride home or need to get some work done, this is not nearly enough time.
While I, for one, don’t regularly use the library after school, this is because it is open for such a small time window. Arriving at 3:15 only to be kicked out 45 minutes later isn’t worth missing carpool and the time lost. By the time a student is settled, the time is 3:30 and they have about 30 minutes left, enough to rush and get part of an assignment done.
With extended hours, the library and media center would solve many homework and after school activity problems with kids; it would provide a place for students who cannot get rides home to stay.
The extended hours would also make for a great place to do homework, whether a ride home is possible or not. I find working at home hard sometimes since there are so many distractions, online and in my house. After sitting down on the couch to watch the nightly television shows, it’s nearly impossible to drag a kid to do his or her homework for hours.
While most students often get frustrated they cannot access social networking sites such as Facebook at school, it would be a huge benefit for those working after school in the library. At home, the link between all of one’s friends lies in the click of a button, but at school, students can actually focus, virtually away from their friends but with all the same resources still available.
Many nights I have stayed up beyond a reasonable bedtime with the computer open, telling myself I’ll focus and go to bed earlier the next day. The next day, the same problem just happens again, nothing has changed, but I’m more tired.
If the library hours were extended to as late as 5:30 p.m., students simply searching for a quiet place to study would be able to enjoy the ability to completely focus and get their work done.