Students wonder why USU library doesn’t have back door
Plenty of Utah State University students, like Jazen Deans, have wondered why there is only one door to the Merrill-Cazier Library.
According to Deans, it’s a topic that frequently comes up among his coworkers at the USU Information Technology Computer Labs, but no one seems to know why the library only has one door.
“This is such a large building,” Deans said. “It should have another door. When we leave for the day, it’s often a pain to get to our cars. We should be able to leave through a back door and not have to walk around the whole building.”
USU Dean of Libraries Brad Cole said there is no straightforward answer on why the library doesn’t have a back door. Instead, it is a mix of factors.
To begin with, the single entrance to the library gives the library staff an easy way to control the traffic of the library, according to Cole. “One door allows us to control the flow of people and materials in-and-out of the building,” Cole said.
The next problem is the fact that the library was simply not designed to have more than one student entrance, according to Cole. “The practically of putting in a back door would be difficult, kind of funky and expensive,” Cole said.
Cole said there are other doors around the building, but they are either for maintenance or emergency exists. In order to make a suitable back door to the library, what ever area they choose would need a massive overhaul.
“We would rather spend resources on helping student success,” Cole said. “I’m not sure a back door would provide that.”
Despite the many points against the case for the library getting a back door, some students still want one.
“I don’t mind it too much, but it would be nice if there was another door in the back,” USU student Julia Nelson said.
All in all, the library will most likely not be getting another door anytime soon but that doesn’t mean the library isn’t changing, according to Cole.
“We try to react to student needs when we can, and we then try to prioritize what will help students succeed,” Cole said. “Just recently,the library has added a family study room, a lactation room and have expanded the data bank.”