UWM’s Golda Meir Library

With the recent renovations that they did two years ago the west section of this library is one if my favorites.
Walking in you have the gates that you have to scan your UWM ID after 8 or 9 pm and you walk into the social commons area. The Grind is a great addition to the library to get your caffeine fix while studying.
I personally like this library for the stacks. Head to the second or third floors to get into the stacks — the higher you go up = less noise and social interactions. All the way up for me. They have common tables that can fit four people yet everyone uses them as personal desks. Head on into the corner areas and you have personal desks and no one around for the foreseeable future… this is where all the studying happens.
Down in the basement there is a great collection of media ranging from DVDs to newspapers from precious years to present.

one of the nosiest libraries I’ve ever been to, first floor understandable as its more a social commons, but the 2^nd and 3^rd floors are just as bad. Wifi is quite unreliable as well.

–Want a book? Go to Golda Meir Library :)
–Want a CD? Go to GML :)
–Want a research article you can’t find anywhere translated from Japanese to English that has to be flown half way across the world just so you can access it?
GO TO GML!!!
–Want to study? Eject yourself from GML
It’s douche-​city in here, and even when you do manage to find a quiet place, the douche bags just smell you out and transplant themselves to the table nearest you!
I’ve left this place many times due to utter douchebaggery.
**douchebaggery-​presenting one’s self in a manner that inspires those around you to wish death and/​or serious injury upon you.

Captain O.G. Readmore, here!
Did ya ever hear about these things called books? Well this is just one big giant building where they keep a ton of them!
So I guess what you do is, you go inside this building, and you have a thing in mind to read about. Type that into a computer– BUT DON’T READ ABOUT IT ON THE INTERNET! Instead, scroll down to the bottom of the Wikipedia page, ignoring all the information there, and look at the things called «sources». Some of these «sources» may just be other websites… but some may be books! And they may be in the very building you are standing in! Ask a librarian for help figuring out where you might locate this book.
This library is huge and you can easily get lost in the stacks. Love that.
Much of the ground floor has recently-​ish been updated to accommodate more modern needs, but most of the rest of the library remains somewhat dated.
The coolest part, in my opinion, is that the American Geographical Society houses their collection here, on the 4^th floor. You can look at just about anything they have, depending on what kind of access you have. It’s just fascinating!

I love Golda Meir, I spend entire afternoons there lost in my work and content as can be.
My favorite spot is on the lower level, next to the newly arrived books. There are some comfy leather chairs and love-​seats with tables and lamps and I feel like I am at home in my cozy apartment. I can spend hours in this spot reading and typing papers on my laptop. I also love browsing the new arrivals, magazines and newspapers.
Another favorite spot of mine is the café area by the Grind. I go here when I want my mocha, a muffin — and a table to sit at and type, or when I am meeting with a group of people to study or work on a project.
My one complaint: The hours. I wish it was a 24 hour library, but I guess the school doesn’t house enough nerdy types like me to make a serious consideration of my request. I am the type to study for an exam until 3am, sleep in one of the study rooms until 9am, and walk straight to class from there…

UWM’s Library or AKA the Golda Meir Library. I believe this to be, aside from the Lubar School of Business, to be the flagship building of UWM. Seeing that they just remodeled the lower level of the west wing, it has created a relaxing, studying oasis for students and even the public! The entire library is compiled of about 3−4−5 levels. The main level of the west wing is what is called the Learning commons and was just renovated in 2009. It had a budget of $ 4.908 million and was well worth it. The University added, or transfered rather, one of its Grind coffee stations from the east wing to the west wing. It is now located in a Café area in the learning commons where students can sit in some nice comfy chairs with their coffee and get cracking at homework. They also added 160 Desktop computers along with 50 laptops available for students to rent out. They have great big chairs (with an increase from 160 seating spaces to 400) to sit in with swivel pads to place work and laptops on, even circular study booths with a trendy color scheme all in the mix there. The rest of the library has stayed the same for the most part, with books and other media on the lower and upper levels. Another improvement was that there is now a place for instructors to reserve books for students who were unable to purchase the textbooks for their semester. The one thing I would say about this place is that they need to have people walking around kicking people off computers. Even though there are 160 computers, It becomes difficult to find an open one without somebody on FACEBOOK!!! ugh…
(Free wifi for students)

I’d pretty much second what Jen says, though I have to wonder when they started selling coffee? Anyway, as far as college libraries go, you’d be hard-​pressed to find one that’s better-​equipped or more useful for study. In my personal experience at least. And I think the architecture and deco are just fine for this kind of place.

The UWM library is moderately fabulous.
Its coffee shop is a welcome addition, though it will still cost you $ 5 for a fancy coffee and 3-​day-​old cookie (still delicious). I guess it’s average for area coffee shops. My only gripe is that the disposable cups they supply are not actually allowed in the library itself. I guess they mean for students to a) chug 12 – 16 oz. of steaming coffee/​tea before entering the library on a caffeine-​hiked studying rampage; b) sneak it in under a draped shirt/​coat, or in one’s pants — Cosmo Kramer style; or c) bring a suitable mug, which would involve planning ahead… something students are oh-​so-​well-​known for.
The library has lots of books, which is a good start for any library. How many up-​to-​date and useful books it has depends largely on what you are studying. Personally, I’ve found it has a reasonable selection of books for my slightly esoteric field (19^th century journalism and philosophy), and any books it lacks can usually be ordered through the UW-​system network, Milwaukee Public Library System, or Marquette Library. (Same can be said of the archives, which has some cool items unique to Milwaukee’s history, and through which you can order items from the Wisconsin Historical Society’s vast holdings).
The décor, for those who care, is 1980’s industrial. It’s drab, functional, and fabulous for studying without the distractions of comfort or aesthetic pleasure. Then again, it’s a publicly funded library… What the heck are you looking for? As long as the restrooms are clean (which they generally are), no one’s got a right to complain. (However, I have to admit, the Medical College of Wisconsin’s library is stylin’. They really put that $ 30,000-or-so of tuition to work). One other thing about UWM’s library – it’s like a labyrinth. Keep looking and you’ll keep finding new rooms and alcoves to study in.
I don’t really use the computer lab, but I guess it looks alright. It’s crowded around 11am-​2pm, and sometimes there’s a line for getting a pc station, but that all in good fun.
In summary, the UWM library is just what you might expect: a pretty large library. It’s not monstrous, but has a great selection when you include its access to other state and local holdings. It’s cold… always so very cold – even in summer… but some people probably see that as an asset. And as far as fashion goes, it’s a school library; if they had anything nicer it would probably get stolen.