Only 39 George Brown students signed in after midnight during February extended hours

Usage during the 24-hour library hours at St. James campus this February was down 71 per cent over the same period a year earlier, according to reports from the library.  

Last month, just 39 students signed into the library after midnight during the two weeks that the library was open for 24-hours before mid-term exams. 

Last year during the same period, 136 students signed into the library after midnight and 190 students used the extended hours in February 2016. 

The library did not offer 24-hour access in the fall of 2017 due to the faculty strike, but statistics shows that the extended hours was used more during final exam periods than during mid-terms.  

In April 2016, a total of 348 students used the library after midnight and 216 did so in December 2016. 

Tetsuro Saito, a manager at the library, said the February numbers did not necessarily reflect all the students who used the library during the 24-hour access.  

“We expect there would be a number of students who stayed after midnight but did not check in,” said Saito in an email to The Dialog.  

Coty Zachariah, the national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, campaigned to establish the 24-hour library program when he was the Aboriginal constituency representative on the Student Association (SA) board. At the time it was established in 2014, Zachariah said that extended hours were intended to be a tool for students who lived farther away from GBC and was generally well received.

“If the numbers continue to dip and it’s no longer an effective service that George Brown students are utilizing, that’s obviously something that the current SA and the school should look at to see if they should continue it,” he said.

The SA funds The Dialog. 

For the students who did use the library during the extended hours, the reviews were positive.

“It is a great environment for studying” said Phuong Nguyen, an English as a second language student. 

The library, she added, is helpful to stay focused on finishing assignments.

“After I come home, I’m very tired. I just want to sleep and maybe I’ll forget about the homework,” said Nguyen. “If I’m studying at school I can come to this place and finish my homework.”  

Saito said he observed that it’s often people who live far away from the college from cities such as Brampton that use the 24-hour library hours. 
“Maybe there is a test in the morning and, in that case, maybe it’s better to stay in the college,” said Saito. 

The library reports also indicate that graphic design and architectural technology students have signed into the library the most after midnight between 2016 and 2017. 

Students from programs at other campuses such as interaction design and development, wireless networking and fashion management have also used the 24-hour library at St. James. 

Jiwon Kim, a hospitality services student, confessed that she didn’t know that the library was open 24 hours but said that it’s a helpful project.

“Maybe (other students) are going to come if they have any emergency assignments,” said Kim.