Commuters moved a step close to solution of their library problem last night when the Student council passed a proposal to permit all undergraduates to check out Lamont reserve books after 4 p.m. on Fridays instead of the usual 9 p.m. hour.

The Council also modified its by-laws to include passages specifically stating the exact relationship of the Combined Charities Committee to the Council and listing the functions of the Committee. A third measure passed was the approval of a report recommending changes in the advising program for pre-med.

Proposed by McNiff

The changes in the Lamont hours were proposed by Phillip J. McNiff, Librarian of Lamont Library. McNiff suggested that the news system be put into effect at the beginning of the spring term and be allowed to run on an experimental basis until the spring vacation.

Commuters would benefit from the plan in that they would be able to take books home at 4:00 instead of having to remain at the University or come back after 9:00 p.m. Books would still have to be returned at 9:00 a.m. Saturday.

Previously the Council had recommended that commuters be allowed to check out a number of reserved books, proportional to commuter population in the College, between the hours of 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. McNiff flatly refused this plan and stated that any such measure would give unfair privileges to la minority of the college. The Friday plan avoids this by making the books available to all students at 4:00.

Friday was chosen because a survey made by the Lamont staff showed that the demand for reserve books greatly declined on that day.

The section delineating the functions and position of the Combined Charities Committee was incorporated into the Council by-laws to avoid situations such as the confusion, early in the fall, over what charities were to be supported.

Under the new section, the Council shall have the right to appoint and dismiss any member of the Charities Committee. The chairman of the committee is required to submit a report three weeks before the drive, stating exactly how the drive will be conducted.

Under House Deans

The report on pre-medical advising concluded that the burden of such work be assumed by the Houses under the decentralized dean's office. A nine-man Pre-Medical Advisory Committee would be chosen from the House, and this committee would, in co-ordination with a faculty group, provide all advisers with full medical school information.