The Moorpark College library has extended its hours this week and during finals week to help students achieve better grades.

“This is great opportunity for students to study,” said student Kennedy Moore.

On Monday through Thursday, May 8 to 19, the library will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Friday, May 13, the library will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday, May 14, the hours will be from noon to 6 p.m. In addition, On Friday, May 19, the library will be open from 7 a.m. to noon.

Library Learning Center supervisor John Dobbins, who has worked at the college for Moorpark for almost six years, said he loves to see students succeed.

“Students definitely get into a crunch during finals week,” said Dobbins.

Dobbins said extending the library hours was a big success last semester. At any given time on a weekday or weekend the library roughly had about 70 people studying.

“I hope the students will take advantage of this opportunity and it helps them,” said Dobbins

Dobbins has advertised the extra hours through the different slide shows that play around campus and by taping fliers and banners around the campus.

Nineteen-year-old music major Kennedy Moore was thrilled when she found out the library was going to extend their hours.

“I go to the library three times a week to study,” said Moore.

Moore says she gets stressed during finals week and having extended hours at the library will help. She has three finals to study for and plans on being at the library every chance she gets.

Reference librarian Mary LaBarge said that staffing is the library’s biggest challenge to adding hours. The budget must be able to staff a librarian and student workers on the weekends, she said.

“Staffing is the main cost,” said LaBarge. “But it is not impossible to move the costs around.”

LaBarge hopes that the library will have a good turnout of students this semester and that grades will raise due to extended library hours.

“We are working with the college to emphasis student success all around,” said LaBarge.