Approximately a year ago, the UB in the city centre was outfitted with entry gates. They are currently only activated in the final two weeks of exam periods. When that happens, people need a RUG card to enter; students from the Hanze University or other people not affiliated with the RUG are not allowed in. It is how the UB prevents busyness.
‘We will be installing bar code readers in two of the gates, rather than just scanners’, says the UB’s Frank den Hollander. ‘Hanze students and people with Martini cards can use those gates. It will provide us inside into visitor numbers and who visits the library.’
Every day
The bar code readers will be activated in December. The gates will then be ‘on’ all day, and people will need a card to enter. ‘The library will still be available to external visitors of course’, Den Hollander says. ‘They can request a visitor’s pass downstairs.’
The rule that only people with a RUG card can enter the library in the final two weeks of exam periods will stay in place. The meagre study spots (a total of 2,200 since the renovation) will be fully available to studying RUG students.