Kent State University Library is now open 24 hours a day, five days a week starting Sunday at noon.

The library will now open at noon Sundays and close at 10 p.m. Fridays. Saturday hours will be 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The 24/5 schedule will end May 6 and resume in the fall.

“With the digital revolution, library use was expected to decline, but the opposite is true,” said James Bracken, dean of Library and Media Services. “Students are pushing for libraries to be open all the time. They want to know they have a place to go that is safe, comfortable and has resources available.”

Circulation desk services will be available during 24/5, but no cash-based transactions will be provided after 11 p.m. No additional staff was hired to extend the library’s hours. Instead, existing staff hours have been altered, meaning there will be no additional cost to the University Library.

Students, faculty and staff must check in with their Flash ID to a security aide to enter to the building after 11 p.m. Only one set of doors in the main entrance area will be used to let students in and out. Security escorts will be available for those leaving the building after dark and before sunrise.

Summer intersession and semester hours can be found here.

Contact Cassandra Beck at [email protected].