The Library Is Open Until 9 p.m. Again — and Students Are Filling It

Since extending hours to 9 p.m. on weeknights, the main library has seen evening visits triple. On a Tuesday night this month, nearly every table on the second floor was taken by 7 p.m. High school students hunched over chemistry worksheets. A group of middle schoolers whispered over a shared laptop. In the corner, a volunteer tutor helped a ninth grader work through a stubborn algebra problem, one step at a time.

The longer hours started in February, after the city council restored funding that had been cut years earlier. Before the change, the main library closed at 6 p.m. on most weeknights, which meant many students had only an hour or two after school and activities before the doors shut. Now the building stays open until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Bringing back the evenings

Library staff said the decision to extend hours came after years of requests from parents, teachers and students. In a survey the library ran last year, the most common request by far was for later hours, followed by quiet study space and help with homework.

The council approved about $210,000 a year to cover additional staff, security and utilities. Library director Hannah Pryor said the cost works out to a few dollars per evening visit, a number she called “one of the best deals in the city budget.”

Library counts show the change has made a big difference:

• Evening visits after 6 p.m. have tripled compared with the same months last year.
• Study rooms are booked nearly every night, often a week in advance.
• Laptop and hotspot loans to students have roughly doubled.
• About 40 percent of evening visitors are under the age of 19, based on staff headcounts.

Homework help

Volunteer tutors are available Monday to Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m. The program, called Homework Help Nights, is run by the library’s teen services staff with help from a local nonprofit that recruits and trains volunteers.

Tutors include retired teachers, college students, engineers, nurses and at least one former accountant who specializes in helping students through high school math. All volunteers go through a background check and a short training on how to guide students without simply giving them answers.

Students don’t need an appointment. They sign in at a table near the teen section, write down the subject they need help with, and wait for the next available tutor. Most sessions last 20 to 30 minutes, though some students come back night after night to work with the same volunteer.

What students ask about most

1. Algebra and geometry homework.
2. Essay outlines and research papers.
3. Chemistry and biology problem sets.
4. College application essays and scholarship forms.
5. English practice for students who are new to the country.

Daniel Ruiz, a junior at the city’s high school, said he comes to the library three nights a week. “At home it’s loud, and my little brothers are always around,” he said. “Here I can actually think. And if I’m stuck, there’s somebody who can help.”

A library at 8 p.m. full of teenagers studying is the best sight in the city.

Hannah Pryor, library director

A safe, warm place

Librarians say many students come because it is quiet, free and open late. For some, it is the only place they can count on having reliable internet. For others, it is a warm building on a cold winter night when a parent is still at work.

Pryor said the library has worked hard to make the evenings feel welcoming rather than strict. The teen section has comfortable chairs and a small area where students can talk without disturbing others. A snack cart, stocked with donations from a local grocery store and a community food program, offers granola bars, fruit and juice from 5 to 7 p.m.

“Hungry kids don’t learn well,” Pryor said. “A granola bar is a small thing, but it can be the reason a student stays another hour and finishes their work.”

The library has also added a security staff member in the evenings and works closely with the school district’s family liaison to make sure students have safe ways to get home. A city bus route stops directly in front of the building, and the last bus after closing runs at 9:20 p.m.

What parents and teachers see

Teachers at the high school say they’ve noticed a difference. Several told the library that students who struggled to turn in homework last fall are now more consistent. One English teacher said she now tells students, “If you don’t have a quiet place at home, go to the library — it’s open until nine.”

Parents say the late hours help families with long workdays. Marisol Grant, a single mother who works as a home health aide, said her 14-year-old daughter takes the bus to the library after school and stays until Grant can pick her up at 8:30. “I used to worry about her being home alone every night,” Grant said. “Now I know where she is, and I know she’s doing her homework with people who care.”

Volunteers say the work is rewarding in ways they didn’t expect. Frank Delaney, a retired civil engineer who tutors math on Tuesday and Thursday nights, said he has watched several students go from dreading algebra to asking for harder problems. “Most of them aren’t bad at math,” he said. “They just never had anyone sit next to them long enough to show them they could do it. That’s all I’m doing — sitting next to them.”

Some students have started returning the favor. A handful of high school seniors who once came for homework help now volunteer as peer tutors for middle school students on Monday nights, a role the library hopes to expand.

Not every evening is perfectly quiet. Staff said they occasionally have to remind groups to lower their voices, and the building can get crowded during exam weeks. But Pryor said those are “good problems” for a public library to have.

What comes next

The library hopes to expand the program next year. Plans under discussion include:

• Adding Friday evening hours during final exam periods.
• Offering free SAT and ACT practice sessions on weekends.
• Recruiting more bilingual tutors to help students and parents who speak languages other than English.
• Opening a small “maker corner” with 3D printers and craft supplies for project-based assignments.

The library is currently looking for more volunteer tutors, especially in math and science. No teaching experience is required, but volunteers should be comfortable working with teenagers and able to commit to at least one evening a week. Information is available at the main circulation desk.

Key takeaway: A few extra hours, free tutoring and a snack cart have turned the main library into one of the busiest after-school places in the city.

On that Tuesday night, at 8:55 p.m., a librarian walked through the second floor with a gentle reminder that the building would close in five minutes. Students packed up slowly. A few lingered at the door, finishing a conversation. Then they headed out into the cold, many of them saying the same thing on the way out: “See you tomorrow.”

Pryor watched them go from the front desk. “That’s the whole point,” she said. “We want them to come back.”