Library Access Disrupted Amid Ongoing Maintenance Issues

Since the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year, concerns have grown over whether the University of St Andrews can maintain the Main Library as a suitable study space for students amid numerous maintenance problems. Closures on essential resources, reduced opening hours, and over-occupied study areas have left students looking for answers and alternatives. 

On Friday 26 September, the Library closed the entire Level 3 floor, leaving students unable to retrieve books, access bathrooms, or utilise key study spaces. Many students expressed frustration not only at the disruption but also at the lack of communication, noting that no email or social media communications were issued to inform them of this closure.

Just three days later, on Monday 29 September, the Library closed all of the building’s toilets. The complete closure of this essential provision without communication also concerned the University’s community.

According to the Library’s website, the North Street Main Library was opened in 1976 due to “pressure on space and increasing student numbers” and “was extensively renovated from 2011 to 2012.” 

Franki’s Café, a key feature of the Main Library, offering snacks or fresh drinks, is officially advertised on the University’s website as being open and staffed from 8am to 4:30pm during the week. Yet during the week of 6-10 October, a sign in the café informed students that “from 6th October to the 10th of October the Café in the library will be self-service.” As with the recent floor and bathroom closures, students reported receiving no correspondence from the University about the change.

This year, the Library’s opening hours have also been reduced. For the 2025 Martinmas semester, the Main Library’s opening hours are 8am to 12am, seven days a week. In past academic years, the Library had a 2am closing time for the full term-time. At the time of publication, the University had not responded to The Saint’s request for comment.

Study space provision has been a key priority for the Students’ Association President of Education, Emily Bannister, with the Main Library at the centre. 

Speaking to The Saint about the changes in the Library opening hours, Bannister said, “In July, I was informed of plans to significantly reduce Main Library opening hours for the upcoming academic year due to low usage in the late evenings. After some negotiations with the Library, I secured a full reversal of the cuts for revision and first exam weeks, restoring the 2am closing time on those key dates.”

Bannister has also turned her attention to the problem of ‘desk hogging.’ New signage around the Library, along with posts on Union-affiliated Instagram accounts, urge students to take their belongings with them when leaving for a study break, using the slogan, “Be kind, unwind, and leave your desk behind! SAY NO TO DESK HOGGING!”

Bannister told The Saint, “Your academic representatives have partnered with the Library to launch a targeted campaign aimed at freeing up study space and encouraging considerate use of shared areas. Inspired by a successful initiative at the University of Edinburgh — where positive outcomes were reported directly to us — St Andrews is now in the early stages of implementation.”

“We’re optimistic that this will lead to more students occupying seats rather than unattended bags, and we’ll be working closely with university staff to monitor its effectiveness,” she added.

Bannister did not provide details on how the campaign would be enforced.

Current student feedback on desk hogging from University students has also been visible on the Main Library’s entrance whiteboard. When prompted for thoughts on desk hogging, many responses expressed their support for the practice. Audrey, a second-year student, explained, “I occasionally desk hog when I need to go eat.” When asked if she thought it was necessary, she responded, “Yes, due to the limited number of seats in the Library. Sometimes, even not during exam season, in the afternoon, I struggle to find a seat.”

The debate over desk hogging raises broader questions about the Library’s capacity to meet students' needs, highlighting concerns not only about its condition but also about the adequacy of available study spaces and resources. Some suggest the practice reflects a student population that has outgrown the Library’s size.

The Library’s website points students to alternative study spaces, including the St Mary’s and King James Libraries, the Gateway Library, Walter Bower House Library, JF Allen Library, the Thomson Reading Room, and various PC classrooms. 

Bannister also emphasised the Union as an alternative: “The top floor of the Students’ Association is our dedicated study space, though students are welcome to utilise any available seating — including Rector's Café and Main Bar.”

While capacity limits and access restrictions mean these alternatives are unequal to the Main Library, they have become stopgaps in a semester already defined by inconsistent access to the University’s central study hub.

Image by Louisa Willan