Officials slashed Gelman Library’s hours for the fall semester, halting decades of 24-hour student access due to a “temporary staffing issue.”
Gelman will operate from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to midnight on Sunday as officials address a staffing issue, Dean of Libraries and Academic Innovation Geneva Henry confirmed. A library employee said in an email obtained by The Hatchet that the University-wide hiring freeze triggered Gelman’s modified schedule by leaving the library with an inadequate number of staff to keep the building open 24/7.
The employee said there is no “target date” for when Gelman expects to resume round-the-clock hours.
Henry said service desk hours, including the check out desk, Ask Us, CREATE Digital Studio and Special Collections, remain unchanged. She said the temporary operating hours allow Gelman to remain open as late as possible and minimize impacts on students.
“We are working to secure staffing for critical vacant positions and look forward to returning to 24-hour operations as soon as possible,” Henry said in an email.
Officials in July said they would implement a hiring freeze for positions supported by operational funds until at least Oct. 1 as the University cuts administrative and academic budgets for fiscal year 2026 to address “unsettling” financial challenges worsened by a yearslong structural deficit and federal attacks on higher education. A University spokesperson said earlier this month officials could extend the hiring freeze as a measure of expense reduction to ensure the University’s long and short-term financial stability.
GW Libraries in recent years have experienced ongoing issues with staff retention and morale since pre-pandemic layoffs, with higher turnover rates during overnight shifts due to their challenging schedules. Henry in September 2024 said LAI is actively working to maintain and back-fill vacancies and thinking “strategically” about staffing for the future.
In 2021, members of the Faculty Senate’s Libraries Committee said the University’s hiring freeze in March 2020 prevented the libraries from recruiting new staff to fill vacant positions as it had intended to do before the pandemic.
GW Libraries has gradually extended Gelman’s hours, starting in 1998 when officials remodeled the lower level and made 60 new computer terminals available to students 24 hours a day. In November of 1998, Gelman’s fourth-floor study lounge hours were extended until 2 a.m. after the Student Association proposed a resolution to extend the library’s fourth and fifth-floor study lounges.
In 2015, officials planned to shorten Gelman’s weekend hours instead of operating on a 24/7 basis, though an online petition that garnered more than 1,500 signatures less than a day after going online reversed officials’ decision.
Student Government Association President Ethan Lynne said he’s heard concerns from “all across campus” about Gelman’s modified hours, adding that he “completely agrees” that the library should be open past midnight. He said he is actively working with administration on how they can open the library past midnight.
Gelman opened Monday after officials closed the library for the summer to perform HVAC upgrades. Officials have closed the library for the past two summers due to the construction and are expected to finish the project in 2026.
