Students are losing seats in the Health and Sciences Library on South Campus - displaced by local teenagers and homeless people. Library and University Police officials say the over occupancy is due to the library's public status and 24-hour operating schedule.
One reported instance involved a homeless woman who had been taking up workspaces at desks and computers.
"We have made some alterations in access to computers right at the Reference/Information Desks because this person was parking herself there and sometimes sleeping and snoring," said Judith Adams-Volpe, director of communication and development at HSL. "She was blocking access to a computer that gives students access to one specific database."
On Thursday April 13 and Friday April 14, the homeless woman occupied an entire table that normally seats four students with several shopping bags, a wheeled suitcase, a shovel and several food items. Students there were forced to work sitting on the floor while she slept.
According to Officer Timothy Pray of the University Police, the same situation has been reported on other occasions, and unless a person is creating a disturbance, they can occupy almost any space in the library.
Many students nap in the libraries on a regular basis, Pray said, and the police cannot distinguish who is who.
Some students are sympathetic toward the situation the homeless face.
"I pity the situation they are in," said James Bonanno, a history graduate student. "UB should communicate with the city and coordinate more residences for these individuals. Nobody should have to live in a library."
Other students, however, are upset about the failure to regulate this problem. Crystal Cepeda, a sophomore English major, has had difficulties finding library space on South Campus. She said that due to an increasing number of rowdy teenagers, students have lost any priority status in the libraries.
"They are consistently playing on the computers or dawdling on MySpace," Cepeda said. "I would be more tolerant if they were utilizing the space for schoolwork."
Studying at Capen Undergraduate Library has offered Cepeda little relief. She waits in line for an available computer but this cuts her study time in half.
Katie Kwak, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, has difficulty finding workspaces at night.
Colin Ames, a freshman undecided major, has considered transferring to a different school to relieve his studying problems.
"I'm considering transferring somewhere that has enough resources for their students. Sometimes you have to wait an hour or more for a computer to free up," Ames said. "Maybe we could satisfy the public access requirement by having public hours during the daytime only."
According to Adams-Volpe, the library needs to be restructured to better suit the needs of students.
"We readily admit that our libraries need massive updating and redesign. We need to create more inspiring and adequate space for all types of study," Adams-Volpe said. "It is the highest priority right now."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
