CommunitySeptember 9, 2026 · 5 min read
The Library That Never Closes
A 24-hour reading room where students, night workers and insomniacs all belong.
By Desmond Clay · Contributing writer
The east wing stays open all night. It was a trial, meant to last one winter, and it is now in its fifth year.
At 2 a.m. the room is not empty. There are nurses coming off shift, students who cannot study at home, a taxi driver who reads history between fares, and a man who comes to sit somewhere warm and always shelves a few books before he leaves.
Vandalism, the objection everyone raised, has amounted to one broken chair.
"A library at night is a different building," says the head librarian. "Quieter, kinder. People look after it because it's the only place still open for them."
