During finals week at Brown University last December, sophomore Grant Gilles moved into the campus' 24-hour study center, the Sciences Library. Gilles did not actually camp out in the library to diligently cram for exams - he was trying to win a talent competition offering the winner a prime choice of housing.
But the stunt may evoke pangs of familiarity for students who enter the Tisch Library once, twice, three times a day - and raises the question of whether or not some students spend too much time in the library.
At Tufts, students and officials say there is a recognizable group of students that visits Tisch excessively. Wayne Powell, an associate librarian at Tisch, said that even with the limited number of hours he spends in the library, there are certain students whose faces stand out.
"There are Tisch regulars," Powell said. Sophomore Eden Wall is one such regular. As both an employee of the Tower Café and an avid librarygoer, Wall said she spends upwards of four hours per day at Tisch.
"I go there sometimes in between my classes if I don't want to come all the way back to my room," she said. "And I work there ... so [it's] a lot of hours."
Usually bringing a hallmate with her, Wall said that she has noticed a contingency of Tisch regulars. "When I'm there, there are definitely people that you always see, in the evenings usually," she said.
Sophomore Elizabeth Herman said that this recognition of students could be due to the fact that many students choose to sit in the same area every time they study at Tisch.
"There are certain people who always work in the same spots," she said.
During her shifts at the Tower Café, Senior Sarah Kalil repeatedly notices the same people lining up for late-night coffee and snacks.
"Last semester I worked the Tuesday night closing shift, so since I was there until 1 a.m., I definitely saw the same familiar faces of people," she said.
Psychology Professor Klaus Miczek explained that several aspects make the library a desirable destination for
students.
"It is a confluence of many factors. It starts with the fact that there are resources you need for studying there and there are certain other features of other people doing the same thing and that there are certain rules that govern behavior," Miczek said.
Students cited the peace and quiet at Tisch as one of its major drawing points. Sophomore Santiago Gasca said that he likes to go to the library every day in order to get away from the loudness of dorm life.
"I live in a suite in Wren," he said. "There are always people and distractions. I'm always looking for a distraction. At home, I can't get any work done, ever."
Given that most students live in the cramped quarters of a dorm room, it can be difficult to find a large-enough area of one's room to devote to schoolwork. Herman said that she enjoys working at the library because it allows her to think of Tisch as her working environment and her dorm as her living environment.
"It's good when I can separate my living space from my study space," Herman said.
Though the library is not typically thought of as the best place to mingle and chat, Gasca explained that for him, the library provides the unique blend of both a studious and social atmosphere.
"The library is great because there's always a break. There are always people here that I know," he said.
When trips to the library become a daily habit, students may wonder whether their need to work inside the walls of Tisch could evolve into a library "addiction."
"Addiction is loss of control," Miczek said. "It is [a] feeling of compulsion."
Miczek explained that because addictions lead to detrimental life consequences, the desire to spend large amounts of time in the library cannot by classified as an addiction."You won't get affected by adverse cons," Miczek said.
The most severe results of spending too much time in the library may simply affect a student's sleeping habits, diet and social life.
"The only detriment could be a cut back on interacting with other students or if it got in the way of a regular routine of eating and sleeping," Miczek said.
Powell said that while he has occasionally seen students napping on desks, these students are not seen as a problem and are often left on their own.
Laura Walter, the Assistant Director of Teaching and Research at Tisch Library, does not think that students spend too much time at Tisch.
"We do have the same students we see, but it is absolutely not a problem here," she said.
Herman agreed. "I don't think it's an addiction as much as an association. You know that when you're in that spot, you have to work," she said.
Walters explained that though students do study a lot, it has never become a serious problem.
"[Tufts students] have their lives in perspective," Walters said.
Walters said that there has never been an issue of students wanting to use the library on Friday and Saturday nights, when the library closes earlier at nine.
"We've never had any students ask to have the late night study open on Friday or Saturday nights," Walters said.
Miczek explained that the problem may not in fact be using the library too much, but too little.
"If anything, [I] would encourage people to use the library more," Miczek said.
