Opening hours of the Taylor Library have been drastically reduced this term in a cost-cutting measure, leaving students feeling frustrated.
The library’s new typical closing time is 5pm, replacing last year’s 10pm close. The previous finishing time of 10pm has been kept on for Tuesdays only, with Sundays seeing the library stay closed the entire day.
Taylor Library is the University’s specialist law library, but is used by students from across the institution. Home to collections of legal texts and law textbooks, the library’s reduced opening hours restrict the time available for law students to access critical resources.
Angelika Bronisz, a fourth year class representative for law students, disagrees with the changes:
“The opening hours being so short prevents law students from doing any work with many useful resources in the evenings. Taylor Library is a crucial resource, especially for those in later stages of their studies.”
A second year law student has also been left feeling disenfranchised:
“Returning from break to severely cut hours was really disappointing. With the high costs of textbooks, Taylor Library is the only place many of us can access resources.”
The student has been forced to change their study patterns:
“I used to go to Taylor from morning to night on weekends and after my 5 p.m. lectures on a weekday. Now, I am unable to do that. I understand the need for cost cuts, but compromising library access is unacceptable.”
The Taylor Library opened its doors in 1964, where it occupies the first and second floors of the Taylor Building. In summer 1995, extensive renovations increased capacity for more students and an expanding collection of law materials.
Sir Duncan Rice Library (SDRL), its main counterpart, has also seen issues impacting student experience. One of its glass elevators are in long-term disrepair causing long queues, and the study room booking system has been offline since the start of term.
“Law school staff and students are extremely unhappy and distraught.” – Laura-Joy Gborjoh, Law School Convener
Mehak Verma, a third year Law class representative, prefers Taylor to SDRL for its resources and aesthetic. Upon arriving back this term, she noticed the reduced opening hours at the law library and immediately wrote a letter of complaint to Professor Justin Borg-Barthet, the Law School head:
“Please professor, I ask for your help in extending the Taylor Library hours as they were.
“I headed to Taylor Library for The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law to find a passage for my Civil Law Honours course which cannot be accessed online, only to find the library is closed on Sundays.
“Another time, I arrived for a long evening of research with physical books, but just then I heard on the loud speaker that the library would be closing in thirty minutes! I rushed to the librarian and she confirmed this to be true – she also seemed upset by the fact.”
Prof Borg-Barthet replied to the class rep that the Law School is “fully supportive of maximising [library] availability” noting “current budget constraints.” He added: “I will pass your comments on to relevant colleagues.”
Dissatisfied, Mehak Verma has drafted a petition and has been collecting hand-signed signatures at the law library. She says the petition has amassed over 180 signatures so far by students of law and other disciplines. She will hold a petition signing event on Thursday 13 November.
Sarith, a fourth year economics student, shared:
“I use the Taylor library as it provides a quieter environment than SDRL for more focused self-study. I’m shocked that the change was not communicated to students, not to mention that there was no opportunity for student consultation on the reduced hours.
“If this is the trajectory that our university is adopting in its Adapting for Continued Success programme, we most certainly are setting ourselves up for failure. It is also disheartening that the Students’ Union has failed to represent our interests on this issue, or perhaps that its voice is considered irrelevant at fora where these decisions are made.”
The Students’ Union has taken notice. Samuel Seymour, the Vice President for Education, labelled reduced hours “an unfortunate development.” At the October meeting of Student Council, the full-time representative shared that he is working to address issues raised:
“I have met with staff from the Library to discuss the circumstances, and I am now engaging with University decision-makers to try and find a way forward.”
Fellow student councillor Laura-Joy Gborjoh, Law School Convener, is “very disappointed” by the new hours. She said:
“Law school staff and students are extremely unhappy and distraught. Previous hours of 9am until 10pm gave students a chance to read late into the night and prepare for assessments or tutorials. As a result of this change to shorter hours, law students are finding it difficult to prepare for assessments – especially fourth year students writing their dissertation – or to use certain books, because there is a limit to the number of books we can borrow at a time.”
Laura-Joy, who works as a Student Ambassador to welcome visitors at open days, expressed concerns over how changes reflect on the university:
“At a recent open day, some of the prospective students did not get a chance to see the library. This shows that the library hours are also affecting the impressions of prospective law students.
“We would like the university to reinstate the hours for the library as it was before.”
A University of Aberdeen spokesperson said: “The entire UK higher education sector is experiencing unprecedented funding challenges and like many others, the University of Aberdeen has been clear about its need to reduce its deficit.
“We are working collectively to generate extra income as well as considering ways to more effectively shape and enhance our educational portfolio.
“Balancing our desire to ensure student-facing services are maintained to the highest levels, with the need to make savings is our top priority.
“We have realigned our resources to ensure that students have access to a seven-days-a-week library service at both our Old Aberdeen and Foresterhill campuses, including evening access and we will continue to reassess this provision to ensure it meets the needs of our community.”