Beginning October 27, you can study at the Killam till 3 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays* and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. These late night hours will be in effect until December 16.
In addition to these late night hours, beginning the weekend of Saturday, November 23, we’ll be extending our opening hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings, opening at 8 a.m. instead of at 10 a.m. The last morning we will open at 8 a.m. on the weekend will be Sunday, December 15.
Night Owls and extended weekend hours will return in the spring as it gets closer to exam time.
All Dalhousie & King’s students are welcome, but after midnight you’ll need your DalCard for access.
So, to review, our hours from October 27-November 22 are:
Sundays: 10 a.m.-3 a.m.
Mondays-Thursdays: 8 a.m.-3 am.
Fridays: 8 a.m.-midnight
Saturdays: 10 a.m.-midnight
Hours from November 23-December 16:
Sundays: 8 a.m.-3 a.m.
Mondays-Thursdays: 8 a.m.-3 am.
Fridays: 8 a.m.-midnight
Saturdays: 8 a.m.-midnight
*Exception Remembrance Day, Monday, November 11. We will be open from 1-9 p.m. (Updated Thurs., Oct. 31)
George says
Really interesting that you’re opening the library at this time, but for a student or parent who knows nothing about Dalhousie I can’t seem to understand why you would be promoting late night studying. Isn’t sleep one of the most important factors of testing/academic work?
George says
Ha, I don’t know why but I assumed you would automatically allow my comment to be posted. Of course I have to wait for moderation…
Marlo MacKay says
Hello George,
Many of our students have asked repeatedly for late-night hours, and if our users didn’t demand this service, we wouldn’t be staying open this late. In fact, we get frequent requests for 24-hour library service, which we are not able to provide at this time due to budget restrictions. This is not a trend or expectation that is unique to Dalhousie. A quick scan of some of the universities in the U15 (the group of 15 universities in Canada who undertake 80% of research, Dal is a member) reveal late-night hours at some of their libraries as well. For example, McGill has 24-hour access for most of October and November, and McMaster also has late-night hours and 24-hour access for their learning commons area (the same area that’s open in the Killam until 3 a.m.) as it gets closer to exams.
For the students who prefer to come earlier in the day (our user statistics show these numbers to be lower), we open at 8 a.m. on weekdays. As it gets closer to exams, we open at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings, too. This will start on November 23 this year.
Patti Doyle-Bedwell says
Hi, I am glad the library is open late. During my undergrad and law school days, I stayed up many a night doing work. In those days, the library was not open late. While the idea of going to bed early for health reasons is good, I never knew anyone who didn’t stay up late to study. Thank you Dal libraries for meeting this need.
Patti
Marlo MacKay says
Thanks, Patti! We’re very happy to offer this service. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t offer the service when you were here, I’m sure you would have used it.
Catherine says
I love Dal’s Night Owls service. Thanks for servicing the needs of the students.
Marlo MacKay says
You’re welcome, Catherine. We love to hear from students who are happy with our services. Thank you for taking the time to say so.
Stacey says
Hi George!
I happen to be one of those late night students. For me, I have always absorbed more information and been able to focus more after 9pm. It was like that right from high school for me. I am thankful the library is open late because I also have a part time job which I work at until 9pm most days after classes.
Yes, you’re right, sleep is super important! For the 2 weeks I have exams though, my GPA is more important! I can sleep during holiday break 🙂
Marlo MacKay says
Hi Stacey,
You are a perfect example of why our students need services like Night Owls. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Valeska says
As a Dal student I love the fact that the Killam is open late, and now the SUB has a 24 hour space for students who want to study past 3am (: The night owl service is great, I live off campus and iit gets me home safely after the buses no longer run. Its too bad that budgets are tight, because it would be great if Tiger Patrol could be up and running too (with hopefully more cars..). To comments regarding the negativity of late night studying, I actually sleep during the day and study at night, but I still sleep 8-10hours a day. I focus better at night and get distracted less easily. Everyone is different :). Thank you so much to everyone who has made these services possible!
Marlo MacKay says
Thank you for your comments. We’re so glad you’re enjoying Night Owls. Having said that, Tiger Patrol should be running until 3 a.m. during Night Owls. Has the service been unavailable? Please let them know by calling (902)499-1831 or (902)718-9908.