Starting Aug. 25, students will have a place to study 24 hours a day, five days a week.
The Parish Memorial Business and Economics Library, located north of Zimmerman Library, next to the Anderson School of Management, is extending its hours at the start of the fall semester.
In the spring, University Libraries distributed a survey to students to determine their library needs.
Nancy Dennis, assistant dean of University Libraries, said there were many issues to consider when choosing which facility's hours to extend.
"We wanted to do a pilot to test the hours and availability to determine how students would use it and in what capacity," she said. "We didn't resist extending Zimmerman's hours, but we wanted to make sure we could provide students a safe and secure environment, one that students could get to easily."
Dennis said safety was a major concern, and Parish Library might be safer because it offers free parking on Las Lomas. The parking area is well-lit, and the UNM Police are close to the library, she said.
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In addition to the survey, Dennis got input from ASUNM, GPSA and President David Schmidly.
"This was a student-generated proposal that the president saw as interesting and that he wanted to fund as well, so we were able to get extra funding for security cameras and staffing," Dennis said.
The library will be open from noon Sunday until 9 p.m. Friday. Zimmerman Library will still be open until midnight.
The extended hours follow the wishes of the students surveyed, but not everyone is familiar with Parish Library.
"I don't know where Parish is and I bet that most students don't know where it is either," student Nicholas Keyes said.
Student Keli Davidson said she prefers Parish to Zimmerman.
"In here, it is more quiet -- way less traffic and less people," she said.
But that will likely change with Parish's extended hours, something Dennis said the library is prepared for.
She said an update to Parish made room for students to study and added more computers.
"We have removed some shelving in Parish, opening up some of that first floor area, bringing in some study tables. We are bringing in a security camera and card-swipe security doors," she said.
Dennis is also working with the Anderson School of Management to extend the hours of Jackson Student Center, which is located directly east of Parish Library. She said the new hours at these facilities will provide a place for students who want a quiet place to study.
