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The LibTech desk at the John C. Hitt library is no longer open to students, having closed abruptly Thursday. Since then, digital signage has told students to return any checked-out items to the Access Services desk.<\/p>\n
Joshua-Paul Estabalaya<\/p>\n
UCF abruptly closed the LibTech Desk, Curriculum Materials Center and Addition Financial Downtown Campus Library Thursday, and it is unclear whether they will reopen to students.<\/p>\n
The UCF Libraries<\/a>\u2019\u00a0hours webpage previously listed operating hours for the downtown library, LibTech Desk and Curriculum Materials Center. It now labels<\/a> the LibTech Desk and Curriculum Materials Center as “No Longer Available” and the downtown library as “Not Currently Available.”<\/p>\n When being asked about the closures, Courtney Gilmartin, UCF’s chief communications officer, said that the \u201coperational changes\u201d happening to the campus libraries \u201cfollowed a comprehensive review of library usage, academic priorities, and available resources to ensure limited resources are focused on the services that provide the greatest impact for students, faculty, and researchers.\u201d<\/p>\n Gilmartin did not specify whether the changes included the closures of the LibTech Desk and libraries or if the services they provided would remain available through other means.<\/p>\n Students could borrow books and equipment at no cost from the now-closed libraries and LibTech Desk. Available equipment included calculators, cameras, chargers, laptops and tablets, according to a university webpage<\/a> that recently went offline.<\/p>\n New signage at the main campus libraries directs students with checked-out equipment to return it to Access Services on the second floor of the John C. Hitt Library.<\/p>\n Antonella Herrera Hern\u00e1ndez, senior technical communication major, worked at the downtown library until she learned on Thursday, during a phone call with UCF Human Resources, that her job had been terminated, she said.<\/p>\n During the call, a UCF Human Resources employee told Hern\u00e1ndez the downtown library closed as part of a “realignment of the university libraries,” she said. Hern\u00e1ndez said she was not given any additional explanation of what the realignment entailed.<\/p>\n Hern\u00e1ndez said she found it “incredibly disrespectful” that she and her coworkers were not given advance notice of the layoffs. She also said the closures deprive students of “necessary resources for a proper education.”<\/p>\n \u201cI think the expectation with being a university student is having a library, so I’m shocked that they would eliminate that,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cI\u2019m just disappointed in what this means for the school as a whole\u2026and it showcases UCF\u2019s inability to function as an institution if they\u2019re not providing this.\u201d<\/p>\n The shuttered library services provided thousands of students with the resources they needed to navigate college life and academics,\u00a0Hern\u00e1ndez added.<\/p>\n The closures of the libraries and LibTech Desk come as UCF meets requirements for preeminent status<\/a>. However, the Florida Legislature<\/a> did not approve preeminence funding this year, meaning the university would not receive additional funds even if it attains the designation.<\/p>\n This is not the first cut to university resources<\/a>\u00a0for students. However, the cutback also follows the university’s decision to allocate the largest financial donation<\/a> in university history to the College of Business on April 15. The investment is set to further business education and resources, according to past reporting by The Charge.<\/p>\n According to the university\u2019s 2025 Accountability Plan, the university is additionally set to spend $290 million on expanding science and engineering research in the 2026-27 academic year.<\/p>\n