Your Brown University Library offers all active Brown undergraduate, graduate, and medical students the opportunity to reserve group study rooms at the Rockefeller and Sciences libraries. 

Brown students and faculty members can also reserve the A/V Studio, lockers, and carrels in the Rockefeller Library and carrels in Orwig Music Library.

Group Study Rooms

Room Reservation Guidelines

• Group study rooms are for two or more students and cannot be reserved for individual study.
• Only current Brown students can make room reservations.
• There is a limit of one reservation per group per day.
• Reservations can be made two days in advance starting at 8 a.m.
• Groups should not make consecutive bookings due to the limited number of group study rooms.
• Please be considerate. If you have two people in your group, avoid booking a room for eight people, etc.

Rockefeller Library Group Study Room Reservations

The Rockefeller Library has a number of group study rooms on the first and second floors that are available for reservations from 30 minutes to two hours. 

Group study rooms 225, 226, and 227 are available for graduate students only.

Sciences Library Group Study Room Reservations

The Sciences Library has a number of group study rooms on Level A that are available for reservations from 30 minutes to two hours.

A/V Studio Reservations

The fully equipped audio/visual studio in the Sidney E. Frank Digital Studio on the main floor of the Rockefeller Library can be reserved by active Brown students (including RISD dual degree students), faculty, and staff. 

Lockers and Carrels

The Rockefeller Library has a number of reservable lockers on every level except for the main level. Graduate students also have access to lockers in the Wernig Graduate Student Reading Room. Lockers are useful for storing materials that cannot be checked out to a carrel. 

Carrels — study spaces that consist of a desk, shelves, and power outlets — are located on the perimeter of the stacks on every level of the Rockefeller Library except for the main level. In Orwig Music Library, carrels are located in the Upper Reading Room and the Lower Reading Room.

Library materials can be checked out to your carrel where they will be available for your continual use.

Reservation Guidelines

• Lockers and carrels must be renewed every spring and fall semester, but may be kept as long as needed by the student or faculty member.
• Availability of lockers and carrels is limited, and there may be a wait list.
• As a courtesy to others, if a locker or carrel is no longer needed please notify library staff so that we may release the carrel to another library user.
• Lockers can be renewed and kept for as long as the student or faculty member is active at Brown.

Who can reserve a locker?

Undergraduate students working on a senior thesis and faculty, graduate students, and medical students who also have carrels may reserve lockers. 

Who can reserve a carrel?

Carrels at the Rock can be reserved by Brown graduate students and faculty members. Undergraduate students writing a thesis are also eligible to receive a carrel.

Carrels at Orwig can be reserved by Brown graduate students writing a dissertation or thesis, Brown faculty members, and Brown undergraduate students writing a thesis.

How to Reserve Lockers and Carrels

Rockefeller Library

Lockers and carrels at the Rockefeller Library can be reserved in BruKnow, the Library’s online catalog, by Brown graduate students and faculty members. Click to view available lockers and carrels, or search the terms “library locker” or “library carrel” in BruKnow. Select a record from the search results. Once you are in the record, click “request item” to place your request. A library staff member will then reach out via email to confirm your locker or carrel reservation.

Undergraduate thesis writers must visit the service desk at the Rock for a carrel application. The completed application must be signed by your thesis advisor and returned to the Rock service desk.

Orwig Music Library

Please visit the Orwig circulation desk to apply for a carrel.

Special Carrel: B-45

Carrel B-45 on Level B is available for use by any library user who would like to place items on a carrel and return to consult them. Please visit the service desk at the Rockefeller Library for assistance with checking out an item to this carrel.

Using Lockers

Locker Keys and Combinations

If you reserve a locker, you will receive instructions on how to retrieve the locker key, or you will be provided with the lock’s combination, if applicable. 

Keys must be returned to staff at the Rockefeller Library service desk when you end your reservation or prior to graduation. There is a $75 fee for lost locker keys. Visit the service desk at the Rock to report a lost locker key and to request a replacement.

What can be stored in a locker?

Only library materials that have been checked out can be stored in a locker. Food or drink cannot be stored in a locker.

Using Carrels

What can be stored on a carrel?

Only items from collections at the Brown University Library may be checked out to a carrel. All items on a carrel must be checked out to the carrel.

Important to note: Because carrels are located in open stacks, any library user may use the carrel and consult material found on it.  

Do not stack books on the windowsill or over vents, since books can be damaged by sunlight and moisture. 

How do I check items out to a carrel?

Bring items that you would like to check out to your carrel to the service desk at the Rockefeller or Orwig libraries and fill out a carrel slip for each item. A service desk staff member will check out the items to the carrel and stamp each slip with the current date.

How do I return items checked out to a carrel?

Bring any items you wish to remove from your carrel to the service desk, or take the carrel slip from inside an item and turn the slip upside down to display “To Be Discharged.” Place the item on the carrel’s desk area. Library staff will remove it.

What cannot be stored on a carrel?

• Items from Interlibrary Loan or BorrowDirect cannot be placed on a carrel and will be removed by staff.
• Personal belongings (The Library is not responsible for loss of personal items left on a carrel.)
• More items than can fit on the selves. If you need more shelf space, visit the Rock service desk to request additional shelves for your carrel.
• Items needed for course reserves. Library staff will remove course reserve materials and place a notice on the carrel explaining why that item was removed.