One of the best-kept secrets of the current library is a narrow, back hallway near the south entrance that is lined with four individual study rooms. At any given moment, these first come-first served rooms are occupied by students taking exams, phone calls, zoom meetings, or working on projects in solitude. Take a step inside one of the individual study rooms and it’s like you’re traveling back in time to the late 1960’s with a small wood-paneled room that has a built-in countertop, a burnt orange vinyl office chair and empty wooden casework. Even as a blast from the past, the students swarm to these individual study rooms and requested at the input sessions that the new library should add more of them and “make them more visible.”
Photo of the current individual study rooms, original to 1967 building.
In the new library, there will be 10 individual study rooms (2.5x the existing count), several semi-enclosed individual study nooks, and dozens of individual study pods will be scattered across the open study spaces of the library. On the upper level, six enclosed individual study rooms line the east wall of the upper level, while five additional semi-enclosed study nooks add more spaces for students to study in solitude. On the main level, four more enclosed individual study rooms line the east wall, providing options with and without windows and a variety of furniture configurations for everyone to find their favorite spot.
The library will continue to be a destination for quiet and focused work. The individual study rooms can be reserved in advance or found on demand. With acoustics and aesthetics designed for each space, they will also serve as a perfect spot to use for Zoom interviews and meetings or other remote work.
