Why isn't the Library open longer hours?

The short answer is: Budget. The University as a whole, and the Library in particular, are underfunded given the needs of our students and faculty. Oregon's level of State funding for higher education is among the lowest in the nation. On top of this, the Library's percentage of the University budget has dropped over the past ten years from over 8% to less than 5%. At the same time Portland State has been growing, in both numbers of students and programs. Additionally, the price of periodicals and other materials has increased faster than the rate of inflation.

The Library is caught in a budgetary squeeze, and does its best to prioritize expenditures. Both faculty and students have said repeatedly through our biennial survey that resources (books, periodicals, and other material) are their first priority. We have tried to extend the availability of our services by providing more online resources and 24/7 chat assistance, but we are not staffed to keep the building open longer. Millar Library is currently open about 8% fewer hours than our peers, but does this with about 30% less staff. We understand the need for longer hours and will continue to seek solutions.

How do you decide which hours to be open?

We base our hours on building usage and demand. We periodically carry out head counts to see how many people are in the building at various hours and where they are in the building. Numbers don't tell the whole story however. We have many students who can only make it to the Library on weekends or evenings, so we try to meet the needs of our diverse community.

If you have further questions, please contact Tom Raffensperger, Assistant University Librarian for Public Services at traffens@pdx.edu