Now Open: The Library Lounge

The Graduate Center Mina Rees Library staff are pleased to bring you a new space for conversation, collaboration, and group study: the Library Lounge.

The Lounge is on the library 2nd floor in room 2300, right behind the printing area. The Library Lounge will be unlocked and available for every library user during library hours. With the doors closed to contain the sound, the Library Lounge will become the first (and only) space in the library where audible conversation is welcome.

All other library practices (e.g. permitting covered beverages only) will be observed in the Lounge, and we trust GC community users to extend consideration to others in the room. There may be simultaneous conversations in the Lounge that people sharing it must negotiate. The Library Lounge may not be reserved. When C-level construction commences and the library meeting room is closed, library staff may occasionally hold meetings in the Lounge.

The Library Lounge is piloted by the GC Library following students’ calls for more space, other than the program lounges, that welcome face-to-face interaction. The Library contains a variety of spaces, including tables near the library entrance for group conversation and the super quiet dissertation room and 2nd floor no-keyboard areas. Outside the Library Lounge, the whole of the GC Library and c-level spaces call for quiet, individual study. GC librarians want to hear from GC students about how the Library Lounge works, and we may revise the protocol for the space pending your feedback about it.

 

About the Author

Prof. Polly Thistlethwaite is CUNY's Interim University Dean for Library Services.