1(name)123 Generi Ave. Montgomery, AL 12345

November 20, 2014

Library Dean Barbra HightowerAuburn University Montgomery213 Library TowerMontgomery, AL 36117

Dear Dean Hightower:

I am (name), a freshman student at Auburn University Montgomery. I found you on the AUM website’s People Finder app, although Ms. Barganier at the Learning Center first pointed me in your direction. I am writing you today because I would like to bring a matter to your attention.

In the Library Tower, the stairwells are restricted to emergency use only. This has led to students being late for exams, work, and general frustration among some of the student body.

I am proposing that the stairwells be opened for general use. To do this would require only a simple policy change and some minor physical adjustments. In the attached proposal, you will find my thoughts on how to make some adjustments that would make a lot of faculty and students happy.

Thank you for considering my thoughts.

Sincerely,

(name)

2Introduction

Recently it came to my attention that the library tower only has emergency stairs above the second floor. I like taking the stairs, and it troubles me that I cannot take them. Initially, I did not think of this as being more than a personal issue; however, recent events have made me realize that these policies have some non-obvious consequences.

Background and History

First, a brief history of AUM’s library: According to former AUM history professor John D. Fair, the AUM Library was originally housed entirely in the current Administration building. However, by around 1981, the AUM Library Tower was being planned (69). The Tower was ultimately completed in 1984 according to his second volume of AUM history (17). In 2012, it was named in honor of Ida Belle Young, according to an al.com article.

To find out more about the stairwells themselves, I met with the Senior Director of Housing and Residence Life, D. According to him, there are two stairwells in the Library Tower, called the East and West stairwells. The entrances to these stairwells do not set off alarms, despite the impression that they do. In addition, he gave the most concrete answer I could find to the question of how long the policy had been in place: the policy has been that way for as long as he can remember.

I also wanted to find out why the stairs are restricted. When I spoke with P, the Financial Associate from the Library, I found out a little bit about why the policy is so restrictive. The AUM Library leadership is concerned about the security of their books, and, therefore, thinks that the stairs should be restricted. I found out during this interview that the doors to the stairs are designed to be one-way doors. They force you to go to the ground level to exit without re-entering on another floor. Because this ground level exit leads directly outside, there is an alarm on it for security.

The Problem

Recently, one of my classmates, G, was stuck on the third floor of the Library Tower on the day of an exam. Because the elevators are known to be slow, he did not think there was anything wrong for “about 10 minutes…” and because the stairs are marked “emergency exit only,” he was afraid to take them and was, therefore, late to his exam by about 15 minutes. Due to this, he was unable to finish his exam and got a less than desirable grade. His experience was what initially made me realize that this had broader implications than my own preferences.

Afterward, I started asking others about this issue. One person I spoke with is a former AUM student and current AUM English instructor, C. She mentioned the fact that the elevators have been a problem since ----, when she first came to AUM. People have been late for class or work

3with concerning regularity because the elevators are down and the stairs are not usable for more than a fire escape.

I believe all this makes it clear that there is an issue worth analyzing. Something else of note is the popularity of the current policy among the student body.

On (date), I surveyed 17 people from the ages of 18-21 of mixed race and background in my English class. These were the results:

Question Average*I believe that stairs should be an option for travel between floors in the AUM Library Tower.

3.18

In general, I believe stairs are often faster than elevators.

3.24

Fig 1: Class survey results.

*The average is based on a scale of 1-4, with 4 corresponding to Strongly Agree.

As you can see, a large proportion of students sampled at AUM not only believe that stairs should be an option, but that they are faster than elevators. This makes it clear that the current policy is also unpopular among many in the student body.

Proposed Solution

I believe that simply unlocking the doors and changing the signage can solve this issue.

For the unlocking, I propose that the doors to the stairwells on floors 2-5 of the library tower be unlocked to work in both directions. You would get out on the second floor and use the public staircase (non-emergency) to exit the building. Below the second floor, the stairwell door leads outside. Therefore, that door will remain alarmed to preserve the existing level of security.

For signage, I have noticed two main sets of signs that should be adjusted or removed:

First, on the second floor the stairwell doors have red signs on them that say “EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY.” (See figure 2) Since these signs give a strong impression that alarms will go off upon opening the door, they will be removed.

4

Fig 2. A picture of the second floor entrance to the library stairs featuring an “Emergency Exit ONLY” sign.

In addition, on the first 5 floors of the tower there is a list of library guidelines next to the elevators. On this list is a statement that the “Use of stairwells is strictly limited to emergencies.” (See figure 3) These signs would be updated to remove that. Since they are just printer paper held in a clear folder, it would not be difficult to update them.

Fig. 3: Policy list next to elevators. Look at the last item on the list.

5Benefits

Less wear on the elevators: Adding a choice to take the stairs would likely reduce the wear on the elevators. This would largely be from people taking the stairs up or down single levels instead of being forced to use the elevators. (E.g. taking the stairs from floor 4 to 5 instead of the elevator)

A less frustrated student body: According to my previously mentioned survey results, many students are in favor of having the stairs as an option. I believe this indicates a general frustration at the lack of choice. This is especially true given the current unreliable state of the elevators.

A readily available backup for the elevators: The main purpose of this proposal is simply to open the stairs because it is good to have another option. However, removing the fear of setting off alarms would likely still benefit those who do not normally use them. For example, If G had not been afraid to use the stairs on exam day, he probably would have gotten a better grade.

Timeline and Projected ExpensesI believe that my proposal is easy to implement. Printing new signs would not cost much money, and given the nature of these signs, it would not take much time to update them. In addition, since the doors already have the ability to be unlocked, no new hardware would be needed for them. In fact, the library already has the tool required to unlock them: during a recent elevator repair, they sent out an email telling everyone that the stairs had been temporarily opened.

I propose that two people be hired for a five-hour day. The first 2 hours would be spent updating the signs next to the elevators, and removing the second floor emergency exit signs. The following three hours would be spent unlocking the doors themselves.

Expenses:● Cost of new policy signs: $0.40. (Printing cost at AUM: $0.10 per page printed. 4 floors)● Labor cost, assuming federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr.: $72.50.● Total cost: $72.90.

6Works Cited

Auburn Montgomery Library. “Print, Copy, or Scan.” aumnicat.aum.edu. Web.

20 November 2014. http://aumnicat.aum.edu/using-the-library/printing-copying-scanning

“AUM landmark now the Ida Belle Young Library Tower.” Al.com. 20 April 2012. Web. 14

November 2014.

AUM Strategic Communications and Marketing. “AUM Extra: Library Elevators.” AUM

Students, AUM Employee Mailing List. 27 Oct. 2014. E-Mail.

Fair, John. The AUM Story: A Decade of Service to the Montgomery Community.

Montgomery, AL: Brown Printing Co. 1981. Print.

---. The AUM Story: A Second Decade of Service to the Montgomery community.

Montgomery, AL: Brown Printing Co. 1989. Print.

C. Personal Interview. 17 November 2014.

P. Personal Interview. 12 November 2014.

G. Personal Interview. 12 November 2014.

D. Personal Interview. 18 November 2014.

United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. “Minimum Wage Laws in the

States” dol.gov. 1 September 2014. Web. 14 November 2014.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm