With spring comes changes to weather, clothing and, as many students have already realized, entering Raynor Library.

Just last week, a new swipe-entry system was installed in the main lobby. Students are now supposed to turn their I.D. pictures away from them and swipe the card at an angle, rather than vertically, said Janice Welburn, dean of libraries.

“The new readers are much less forgiving of older cards that may have worn magnetic strips,” she said. “There is also a slight delay between when the card is swiped and when the turnstile releases to admit the student.”

For students who are used to swiping any which way with their pictures facing them, this change can be quite upsetting.

“The transition period has been really confusing for a lot of people, but I think it will get easier once everyone learns it,” said Angie Schutz, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences and library archives employee.

“At times when a lot of people are entering the library, you’re constantly hearing, ‘Ok, step over to the front desk and she’ll let you in,’” she added.

The new installations were made due to the ineffectiveness of the old system. One of the card readers needed replacement, and the old model was no longer available, so all three were replaced.

However, the new system still has some glitches to work through, such as not reading cards. The end result is lines of frustrated, waiting students, said Mike Hurley, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“It is extremely disappointing and frustrating,” Hurley said.  “There should never be this amount of difficulty in gaining access to the library. It is a very serious problem when you see a line of students waiting to get in, especially when one (or two) of the turnstiles is blocked off. Hopefully, the problem will be corrected soon.”

The new readers installed at Raynor have also been put in at other campus locations, such as Zilber Hall, but these locations experience a lower volume of daily usage.

“We believe the problems we experienced may be due to the high volume of people through our turnstiles each day, especially during class changes,” Welburn said.

Kelly Slain, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and a Raynor front desk worker, said the original replacements had some card-reading issues. The library switched one of the turnstiles to a different reader, and she said that one seems to work better.

The replacement to the new readers has a vertical swipe system and will read cards with worn magnetic strips.

All three turnstiles are expected to have the updated card reading system permanently installed by Monday.

“It will take some time to get used to the new machines, but if everyone is patient and realizes that it is just as big of a hassle for the employees as it is for the students, it will all work out,” Slain said.

Raynor Library is also becoming a place for collaborative study, according to the displayed whiteboards. Areas that had been quiet study spots will now be used for group study. Students who wish to study in silence are directed to Memorial Library or the two study rooms near the Bridge.