UA Facilities Management is prepared to keep the UA libraries clean as more students start using them to study for finals.
Library floors, tabletops and bathrooms are cleaned daily by the Facilities Management staff. There will be a significant increase in students using the library starting in early December, which probably means there will be more trash to pick up, said Chris Kopach, director of Facilities Management.
Along with making sure there’s enough staff to keep the libraries clean, a stronger cleaning agent will be used in the libraries and throughout campus during that time. The flu and upper respiratory infection season hits the UA right after students return from Thanksgiving break, Kopach said.
Ji Huang, a pre-business freshman who uses the UA Main Library often, said it’s usually clean. And even if more people are using the library, hopefully the custodians won’t have to walk around picking up trash when they could be working on more important things like keeping the bathrooms clean, he said.
Walid Khan, a pre-physiology sophomore, said he uses either the Main Library, Science-Engineering Library or Fine Arts Library at least five days a week. The only place that’s consistently dirty is the Manuel T. Pacheco Integrated Learning Center, he said.
“The ILC is full of wrappers, it smells bad and the librarians think I’m trying to steal the Lysol wipes because I have to use so many,” Khan said. “Cleaning doesn’t fix the problem because the issue is dirty people.”
Khan said he doesn’t think the library will be a dirtier place during finals because it’s non-students who leave behind most of the trash. Putting up more signs reminding people to clean up after themselves is probably the only thing the UA can do to address the problem, he said.
The library is tough to maintain because it’s open to the public and for long hours, Kopach said. The bathrooms are one of the biggest challenges to keep clean. “If the area is going to be packed with students during the finals, we would anticipate we’ll see additional trash volume picked up … some folks may not maintain it (library) like it’s their house,” Kopach said. “If there’s a spill, the restroom isn’t taken care of properly or graffiti on the walls, our staff will respond to it.”
Illarion Borisevich, a pre-computer science sophomore who uses the science library frequently, said the UA does a good job of keeping the libraries clean. He said he’s not worried about that changing when finals season arrives.
“I think most people will still respect the library and throw away their trash,” Borisevich said. “I mean, why wouldn’t they?”
