Study Carrels

What is a carrel?

carrel
→ noun, a small cubicle with a desk for the use of a reader or student in a library.
→ (historical) a small enclosure or study in a cloister.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: apparently related to carol in the old sense ‘ring’.

More than just seating...

At the Law Library, carrels are small wooden enclosures with desks, shelves, and electrical outlets where you can sit and study, but they are also a place where you can have law library books delivered. If you sign up (at the Circulation Desk on Sub-2) to have a carrel assigned to you, then when you use the online "Request Item" feature in the Law Library's catalog, the books you request will be delivered to your assigned carrel. Otherwise those books end up at the "hold shelf" behind the Circulation Desk.

Signing up for a carrel is also a good idea if you will need to use the same pile of books for an extended period of time. Unless another library user submits a "recall" request for one of your checked-out books, books in your carrel will be left there until their due date. Books left out anywhere else except in carrels will be reshelved by library staff.

Sign me up!

To apply for a carrel submit an application at the Circulation Desk on S-2. When you are ready to check out books to the carrel, staff at that desk will tell you what carrel has been assigned to you. Carrel assignments to individuals are for a one-month period, but you may request renewal as needed.

Please note that assigned carrels are not your own reserved place to sit and study in the library. Carrels may be assigned to more than one person at once, and library users are encouraged to sit in any vacant carrel to study. Please do not attempt to eject other patrons from "your" carrel!