CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Hiro Maeda caught up on the news yesterday at Sinclair Library on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. The library will be offering 24-hour service, five days a week as part of a pilot program to better serve students. The service began yesterday and continues through Friday, when it will close at 7 p.m. More information can be found at www.sinclair.hawaii.edu.

Shhh!

UH's Sinclair Library begins around-the-clock service

With final exams looming, Hanna Chang was relieved yesterday when she found out about a new place to study after 10 p.m., when most coffee shops shut their doors.

And she won't have to leave the school campus.

Beginning this week, the University of Hawaii's Sinclair Library at Manoa will keep its doors open 24 hours Monday through Friday.

"I'll love it," the 23-year-old Chang said while pouring over a microbiology book at the library's second floor. "Plus, it's quiet here. At the coffee shops, everyone is talking."

The around-the-clock service was originally scheduled to debut at the campus' Hamilton Library this month. But it was transferred to the smaller Sinclair because the school will not be able to hire enough staff and guards to secure Hamilton's five floors until the spring, said Paula Mochida, interim associate university librarian for public service.

While Hamilton would require three library assistants and three guards to stay open all night, Sinclair will need only two guards, Mochida said. Hamilton will still extend library hours to midnight during finals week.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Gregg Geary, head of Sinclair Library, and University of Hawaii-Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan untied a ribbon at the library on the Manoa campus yesterday.

For sophomore Justin Stern, the extra hours will allow him to take a break from the dormitories, where he is constantly busy as a resident adviser.

"I have residents coming to me 24/7, so now I have a place to get away," he said.

Keeping Sinclair open night and day until the end of the fall semester will cost about $11,000 in student fees, said Gregg Geary, head of the library.

All of Sinclair's three floors will be accessible from noon on Sunday until 7 p.m. Friday, though this week the library closes tomorrow because of the election and on Friday for the Veteran's Day holiday. On Saturday, Sinclair will keep its regular hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

During late hours, students will be able to go online, and browse through full-text journals and other collections. Snacks will be allowed on floors 1 and 2. Visitors won't be able to check out books or pay fines and, starting at midnight, will need to show a university ID.

Sinclair, which still suffers from some mold because of no air conditioner, is in need of major upgrades. For now, it is having original furniture refinished and adding new study lounges, Geary said.

"We are talking about tens of thousands of dollars instead of millions," he said.

Plans are to return Sinclair to its regular hours once Hamilton adopts the 24/5 service next year.