Georgetown University Library

This is a good place to study as well, but the midnight mug level can be very loud during exam week.
I prefer studying here on the main campus as opposed to the DML.

Terrible and disastrous. Some of the photocopy machines always broken. I was surprised that almost all of the facilities in the Georgetown University are the third-​world-​class. I could not believe at first, but, sadly, this is true.

This is my second home on campus. I hardly use the second floor, which is the social floor, unless I’m specifically meeting people for a group project. Otherwise, I grab a drink at Midnight Mug on the second floor, and make my way into a cubby on the first floor. It’s quiet, and several of the books I needed for thesis research happened to be on that floor. There is wifi, though at the time of undergrad it wasn’t that strong on all floors.
I got so much more work done here than in my home.

get back to studying!

Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. GU’s inconvenient location aside, this library has the largest open-​stacks collection in DC, with none of LOC’s closed-​stack, request-​your-​book-​yesterday rigamarole. Its generous access policies admit readers with almost any photo ID, but an ID from a CIRLA or WRLC member university will speed matters. The reading rooms are well furnished, with plenty of power outlets, and some offer great views over the Potomac toward Rosslyn. Wi-​fi is open access.
The second floor has a student-​run café, and it’s teeming with insufferably talkative undergrads. This arrangement has the upside of keeping them all on that (lower) floor, thereby maintaining quiet upstairs.

The only thing that stops me from coming to this library all the time is the fact that it is very out of the way for me. My first thought on entering it was that it is like the library that the Beast gives Belle in Beauty and the Beast. All wood panels and ancient books and vaulted, gorgeous ceilings. Plenty of places to get lost in an armchair and read.
It’s not the library of congress but for what it is– a college library– it is hard to imagine something getting better or more beautiful than this. Anyone can sign in and take advantage of their wifi, though why you’d want wifi with all these books is beyond me. Highly recommended.

I heard this building is supposed to be the inside-​out version of Healy? How ironic, because Healy is the most beautiful building on campus, and Lau is the most hideous, a view shared by most of the Georgetown student population. It’s like comparing Brad Pitt to Jabba the Hutt. No comparison.
Lau itself only holds 1.7 million volumes, a paltry amount compared to other universities. If only we had more money. However, whatever Lau doesn’t offer, the Library of Congress certainly can. Thank God Georgetown is in DC, otherwise I’d never be able to get my research papers done.
The inside of Lau is easier on the eyes. Librarians, for the most part, want to help you and are very knowledgeable. The Pierce Reading Room on the 3^rd floor is an open, quiet area that’s great for doing work. Lau 2 is the loudest and most social of all the floors and is also where the student-​run Midnight Mug coffee shop is located. There’s actually a coffee machine on the 2^nd floor that most students don’t know about that sells coffee for less than a dollar. Lau 1, 4 and 5 are generally very quiet and best for getting work done. You can print on the 1^st and 3^rd floors but need a GoCard in order to do so.
A gem of Lau that students hardly utilize is the Special Collections research center on the 5^th floor. They have some unique rare books and manuscripts, including a copy of the Star-​Spangled Banner manuscript. I got to do some research on it freshman year, which was pretty cool.
I also appreciate Lau for being 24 hours. I know some smaller liberal arts colleges don’t have that luxury and that sucks. Let’s be honest, what college student HASN’T pulled an all-​nighter for something or another? My memories here (so far) consist of lots of coffee, cramming for econ exams, stacks of books, and typing away into the wee hours of the night/​early morning. Although this place sees no sunlight whatsoever, I definitely get lots of work done every time I come, mostly because this building resembles a prison so you’re forced to do your work.

Oh man, open access and free Wi-​Fi for non-​Georgetown students! And a phenomenal political science section. I’m so glad that I’m living right up the street for the summer, so I can stop by after work (it’s open till midnight) and relax with a pile of whatever books grab my attention in the stacks.

While the out-​of-​the-​way location of the G-​town library probably prevents almost everyone but students from ever setting foot inside, I’ve spent so much time here over the past few years that I figure I ought to throw down a quick review.
This library: is open 24 hours a day for Georgetown students, offers free Wifi even for non-​Georgetown students, has lots of computers for public use and lots of comfortable couches and chairs to read in. Pretty sweet place.

This is one of the nicer libraries I’ve been to. You can walk in and there’s a massive flat screen tv in the first room playing the news, with several other monitors in the hallway.
The library has something like five floors so there are plenty of places to be a recluse.
Non-​Georgetown students can use the services the library offers simply by signing in.

They say Lauinger was designed with the skyline in mind, in an attempt to conform with the lines of Healy tower. Clearly, the 60’s style architects were on drugs, and their hallucinogenic vision has continued to baffle Gerogetown students to this day… however, the inside of this library has more to offer, and largely makes up for appearances.
First of all, the 2^nd floor coffee machine is one of the best deals in town. For less than a dollar, you can get a tasty Nestle brand coffee… sometimes the machine is out of cups, but you can force feed it whatever receptacle you have by squeezing it in between the metal grips where the fluid comes out.
Be sure to check out the government documents section on the first floor – hardly anyone ever goes here, which means that a pleasing, well-​lighted room full of current periodicals is there for your personal enjoyment.
This place is like a madman’s castle – just stay on the underground floors and don’t look up from you books when freshman girls walk by.