A.S. Government Resources

A Bill in Favor of Limited Restricted Access to SDSU Library Reserve Book Room

Sponsored by: Arash Saemi

WHEREAS, The mission of the Associated Students of San Diego State University is to promote citizenship and social responsibility; to educate students about and promote involvement in the governance of the university and the affairs of the local community; and to represent student interests in governmental issues on city, state, and national levels; and

WHEREAS, SDSU students approved an increase in mandatory student fees in the spring 2002 of $10 per semester for the purpose of providing extended Library hours and 24-hour access to the Reserve Book Room and Student Computing Center, and

WHEREAS, While the response and utilization to the increased hours of access to the Library’s facilities has been impressive, concerns for the safety and security of the facilities for the SDSU students, faculty and staff who use it for pursuit of legitimate academic endeavors have also increased, and

WHEREAS, In order to ensure a safe environment conducive to the pursuit of scholarly activities, the Library intends to implement a new policy of restricting use of Reserve Book Room facilities/computers to SDSU-affiliated users between the hours of 1am and 7am beginning with the spring 2004 semester, and

WHEREAS, Library staff have formulated plans to post signs in the Reserve Book Room with the intent of giving all users plenty of advance notice about the new policy and to carefully implement the policy with sensitivity to student needs such that if they forget their valid SDSU ID cards, staff will be able to verify their affiliation by checking the Library's patron database; if they are accompanied for safety's sake by a non-affiliated relative or friend, Library staff will allow that person to remain, and

WHEREAS, Library staff have agreed to do a "sweep" of the area to check IDs only once per night (shortly after 1am), after which time students will be asked to show IDs as they enter the area in an effort to minimize the interruption to students who are in the area all night, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the University Affairs Board and AS Council support the intended measures and affirm their commitment to ensuring that students are able to utilize campus facilities in an atmosphere that is as safe and secure as reasonable and conducive to the participation in studying, research, group discussion and other scholarly activities, and be it further

RESOLVED, The University Affairs Board and AS Council commend the Library Staff and administration for their quick response to the problem and efforts to mitigate the potential security and safety concerns and hereby endorse the additional measures and limited restricted access plans that have been formulated.

 

Approved by Associated Students Council on December 3, 2003

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Juanita Salas, Associated Students President