Students who need a bit more time to study next week will find that Helm-Cravens Library will be open for an additional two hours at night, thanks to the Student Government Association.

SGA approved a bill last week that will give the library $600 to stay open until 2 a.m. during finals week.

Dan Forrest, associate professor for Library Public Services, said SGA has been doing this ever since he began working at WKU in 2002. He said the library’s additional hours help the students out a lot.

“We have a lot of people here who use the library, and many will take advantage of the later hours,” Forrest said. “It is especially helpful for them to have extra time to look at reference books or reserved material that they are unable to check out.”

SGA President Colton Jessie said it’s never a question whether they’ll continue this service each semester.

“We always do it, and I don’t know why we would stop,” Jessie said. “Finals is obviously an important time for students, and we want to do everything we can to help students succeed.”

The money from SGA helps pay for the staff to be there longer, as well as keeping the lights on, Forrest said.

Forrest said signs will be posted throughout the library to let students know about the extended hours, and students always seem to use it to their advantage when they need a quiet place to study.

“The number of people here drops off over the course of the week as people finish their finals,” Forrest said. “But a lot of people escape to the library to avoid noisy apartments and dorms where people might be celebrating their finals being over.”

Forrest said students should expect a crowded but hopefully quiet library.

SGA Executive Vice President Kendrick Bryan said he’s happy to support the cause.

“It is one of our favorite signature services, and we are glad to help out the students during finals week,” Bryan said.