University Libraries - About the Libraries

Need to make a call? Cell phones and conversations should be taken to the central corridors of all floors. If you are experiencing excessive noise in a quiet or silent study area in the Main Library, we encourage you to remind individuals to keep the noise at an acceptable level. Disturbances can be reported to the Service Desk staff on the first floor. Ear plugs are also available at the Service Desk.

Main Library floor by floor (PDF opening in new window/tab)

Quiet and silent study spaces map (PDF opening in new window/tab)

Group study spaces

For information on first floor group study rooms in the Main Library, please visit the libraries group spaces page. Active learning takes place on the first floor, which has a large number of collaborative work stations, tables, booths, and group study rooms. The Learning Commons, Food for Thought Cafe, Service Desk, and a limited number of reference materials are located on this floor. Other options for group study space include a fourth floor room (4041) and 11 cubicles on the second floor corridor that are available on a first come, first serve basis to UI students.

• Conversations are permissible at reasonable indoor speaking volume.
• Group work is encouraged on the first floor Learning Commons.
• Cell phone texting and talking at reasonable indoor speaking volume are permitted.

UI undergraduate four-hour short-term study rooms

These rooms are not sound proof and noise will travel to bordering study rooms and to the open areas near the rooms. Individual rooms are available to current UI undergraduate students, and are first come, first served at the Service Desk.

Student Responsibilities 

• Rooms are available when the Main Library collections are open. See UI Libraries hours for more information.
• Occupancy is limited to one student per room.
• Pick up your key at the first floor Main Library Service Desk. 
• Students are responsible for following all UI safety guidelines.
• Lock the door when your reservation is over and return the key to the Main Library Service Desk.

Quiet study areas and rooms

• Whispered conversations are permissible.
• Cell phone texting is permitted.
• Individual work is permitted.

Third floor

• Seating on the east side of the building in the area around the current and bound journals
• The Graduate Study Room (3132) is on the north end of the third floor corridor. Any current graduate student with a valid IowaOne card can access the room.
• The Faculty Study Room (3134) is located on the third floor by the current periodicals. Any current faculty, including those with visiting scholar status, with a valid IowaOne card can access the room. Emeritus faculty may fill out this form to request access.

Fourth and fifth floors

• Seating in both the east and west book stacks areas

Silent study spaces

Need absolute quiet when you study? The silent study room (2001) is a space in the library for silence–whispering, headphones, or keyboards are not permitted in this space. Remember to put your phone on silent when you enter.

Assigned study spaces

Individual research study rooms on the upper floors of the Main Library are to be used for the purpose of in-depth study and research requiring extensive use of library materials. These rooms are available for assignment to:

• Post-comp Ph.D. degree candidates, currently engaged in the writing of their dissertation. Priority is given to disciplines served by the Main Library (humanities, social sciences, and math and physical sciences).
• Current UI faculty with ranks of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor.
• Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2023-2024 academic year. Applications will re-open in the fall for the 2024-2025 academic year.
• Contact lib-maincirc@uiowa.edu with any questions on availability.

Research Study Room guidelines

Need a locker?

Assigned lockers are available on the first floor of the Main Library and inside the faculty and graduate study rooms on third floor. The library is now offering daily use lockers available in the Learning Commons close to Madison Street.

• Undergraduates apply here – located on the first floor close to the One Button Studio (Apply the first day of class of each term: fall, spring, and summer)
• Graduates apply here – located inside the Graduate Study Room, third floor
• Faculty apply here – located inside the Faculty Study Room, third floor

“The University of Iowa Libraries encourages scholarly research by maintaining an environment conducive to study in all units of the libraries system. Library users are expected to act responsibly, appropriately, and courteously to preserve the libraries’ facilities, environment, and collections.”
(From Conduct in the University of Iowa Libraries: Basic Policy Governing Public Use)