Last month, administrators approved a request to extend Green Library’s hours until 2 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights. This came as a welcome announcement to many students, though same may be wondering when, if ever, these changes will really take place. Although the later hours will not be implemented until the fall, the move to keep Green open later should be held up as a successful example of the ASSU and Stanford administration collaborating to fulfill students’ wishes.

Many candidates for the ASSU Senate promoted the idea of later library hours. Within a week of the election, students received a brief email survey asking their opinion on the current library situation, their late night study habits and whether they would appreciate Green remaining open later during the week.

Having established that there was support for the idea, the ASSU then worked with the administration to implement a plan in accordance with student wishes. The University agreed to cover the additional cost through the General Fund, meaning that the library did not have to cut funding in any other areas. The library staff then began doing what was necessary to implement the later hours. This exemplifies what we should hope for: the ASSU solicited student input, advocated on their behalf and worked with the relevant individuals and organizations to accomplish their goal.

According to Director of Library Communications Andrew Herkovic, there are a number of steps necessary to change the library’s schedule. Foremost among them is the need to hire new, permanent and full-time staff members — and it is difficult to find people willing to work until 3:30 a.m. and potentially never meet their supervisors. These staff members must be trained on the library’s surprisingly complicated closing procedures, and they must also be able to deal with issues any number of in the library, given that there are few staff members working at that time of night.

There are additional systemic issues that must be addressed, such as reconfiguring automatic lighting, alarm and large-scale backup systems. None of these matters are insurmountable, and all are being addressed.

Instead of fixating on the fact that the library will not be staying open later until next year, we should appreciate an instance in which the system worked. Herkovic noted that he thought the student body did its job well in expressing its desire for a change, which made it easy for the Stanford library system to respond.

The ASSU should consider this a feather in its cap. The early closing time is certainly a nuisance for some, and these are the kinds of matters that our advocates to the administration should be aware of and voice. The administration and library staff should also be commended for responding promptly to improve a perceived campus problem. This was an admirable effort on all sides and should be appreciated, even if it will be a few months before library-goers can burn the midnight oil a few hours later.