Even though Clemons Library now is open 24 hours a day, there still are a few kinks to be worked out in the system - including how to determine who should and should not be in the library after 2 a.m.
In order to alleviate this problem, Clemons staff, the Honor Committee and Student Council are considering installing an ID card reader system to ensure safety after midnight.
The system would place a card reader outside the main entrance to Clemons Library. Students would swipe their student identification cards for access to the library during late-night hours.
Only students, faculty and staff are allowed access to the library after 2 a.m. Security staff located at the main entrance now check students' IDs at the door to ensure safety, Clemons Director Vicki Coleman said.
"We are looking into installing a swipe card system as opposed to a vouching system" similar to that used in the dining halls when a student forgets their ID card, said Leigh Paulin, Honor Committee vice chairwoman for services.
The original plans called for a vouching system in which ID numbers would be punched into the database used for borrowing materials from the library, rather than a swiping device.
Coleman said she is verifying the feasibility and legality of this system.
"We don't know if this is a breach of a student's privacy," she said.
Although the card reader is a priority, it is not the most pressing safety concern for the library system.
"There are other safety concerns, such as security cameras for the exterior terrace level and the interior of the library," Coleman said.
The University is installing security cameras throughout the library.
"There is a limited amount of funding, and we must do what is most pressing, which is installing security cameras for the safety of the students," Coleman said.
If funding is not sufficient to provide both the swiping device and the security cameras, the Honor Committee and the library staff will look for other ways to verify a student's identity.
Students agreed safety concerns should be a priority as the University adjusts to the library's new schedule.
"I think there needs to be something to regulate who comes in and out of the library," first-year College student Melissa del Sol said.
Ultimately, library officials say they want students to feel safe and able to study in any circumstance.
(For related story, see Life, page 5)
Read More
Professors speak about leading productive dialogue on Israel-Hamas war
By Lexie Stadler | 4 hours agoThe event was hosted by the University’s Task Force on Religious Diversity and Belonging, which is designed to ensure that the University is welcoming to community members from all religions and cultures.
Honor Committee considers formal ban of AI detectors as evidence in trials
By Lexie Stadler | YesterdayThe Committee also addressed balancing student perspectives with those of Committee representatives during panel discussions.
Pro-Palestinian protesters form encampment near University Chapel
By CD News Staff | YesterdayThe encampment overlapped with a separate “May Day” protest on the Lawn, which was hosted by student activist group U.Va. Dissenters and the U.Va. Apartheid Divest Coalition.
