Students are finding it difficult to find a public library that best fits their academic needs due to the library hours being cut across San Diego County.
Earlier in the year San Diego’s mayor Todd Gloria proposed a deal to cut San Diego libraries’ hours for the first time in nearly 10 years. With library hours being reduced across San Diego, Gloria did offer a trade that could provide more money and materials for the libraries. Libraries will lose 23 percent of their hours by closing Saturday and Mondays they will also be open for 42.5 hours per week instead of the normal 55 hours per week.
With the proposal that San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria offered with getting more funding and material, it does not benefit college students because library hours are so limited to them that they will not have enough time to go study and use any of the new resources that are provided.
This proposal can be difficult for some college students because of their schedules and some may have to balance their education with work. Palomar’s library hours are limited for some students because it is open Monday and Tuesday from 7:30-11:30 a.m. and Wednesday and Thursday from 1-6:30 p.m. and at the latest, a local public library closes from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
With the hours that Palomar offers, it can be difficult for some students to fit in time to study in their schedule because it is very limited. Some students may have work or class in the morning/afternoon and won’t have enough time to study or gather resources.
The majority of the libraries at a College or university are there to provide a less distracting space for students to study and get resources. Many students go to libraries having one goal in mind and it is to get away from distractions that they may have back at home and a library is their best solution to complete projects and homework assignments. At a local or college/university library students benefit because they have a place where it is less distracting and resources are provided all in one place.
Since the pandemic, everything has been digital from books, classes, tutoring sessions, and etc. With doing everything digital it still has its downside. Whit majority of libraries moving all their information to their website can cause network issues because big libraries need high bandwidth networks in order to allow a big number of students to visit their site all at once.
There have been many times where students have trouble accessing the library website or understanding how to get the information they need because of the layout the websites designed.
Libraries are a part of an important role in a student’s education because they can not only provide resources but open opportunities to students in meeting people and finding job opportunities that they will benefit from.