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Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2008

Macon State to cut library hours, modify facilities to save cash

Macon State College is planning to close its library one day a week and modify weekend use of campus facilities as part of a budget reduction strategy.

The college will close the Library/Academic Resource Center on Saturdays beginning Oct. 11, and start consolidating weekend campus activities into one or two facilities by the middle of the month.

The moves are in response to state budget reductions. The reductions are designed to decrease the costs of heating and cooling buildings and to maintain affordability for students by reducing expenses.As part of Macon State's Customer Service Improvement Plan, the college is using the Lean/Six Sigma method to greatly improve efficiency in the workplace.

The Library/ARC will close Saturday, but will remain open on Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m. College surveys show that more students use the Library on Sundays.

By mid-October, all campus activities scheduled from 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday night will take place in either the Charles H. Jones Building or the auditorium of the Learning Support Building. Those facilities were chosen because the science labs in Jones require climate control to maintain fresh air quality standards regardless of whether people are in the building.

Faculty and others who need to come to campus on weekends still will have access to their offices, regardless of which facilities they are located in.