Burning the midnight oil, students from all colleges on campus have opted to take advantage of the new 24-hour opening of Pollock Library and continue their studies into the early morning hours.

During the first week of classes 172 students used the library between midnight and 9 a.m., said Cordelia Swinton, acting chief of access services for University libraries.

And the number of students is expected to increase as the semester continues, Swinton added.

Undergraduate students from the College of Engineering have used the facility most often during the extra hours, according to returned library questionnaires.

Students from the College of Business Administration, the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science follow close behind.

"We do have people who stay here all night and many are excited about having a quiet place to come," said Wendy Keeler, night shift attendant at Pollock.

Keeler said a fair number of students use the facility between midnight and 2:30 a.m. Before this semester, the facility closed at midnight and opened at 9 a.m.

James McCormick (sophomore-business) said the new policy is excellent because it provides continuous quiet for people who must begin their work at a late hour.

"Before, places closed at 2 a.m. and there wasn't any quiet place to go. Now it doesn't matter how late you stay, because there are no time constraints," McCormick said.

Other students also reacted positively to the new policy, emphasizing its convenience.

Colleen Finnegan (junior-managing information systems), who was cracking her books for the first time this semester, said she is more comfortable studying in Pollock than in an empty classroom.

Brett Lerdzman (junior-psychology) called the new policy "highly flexible" and said the University should consider expanding its late- night services toward the west end of campus.

Library attendants check student identification cards at midnight and distribute user surveys to determine who uses the facility and services.

Swinton said this information will be evaluated by a committee at the end of the semester to determine whether the 24-hour policy should remain permanent.