Yes! Beginning November 16.

The library is pleased to announce that an online reservation system is now in place for the Group Study Rooms in both the Williams and Wolff libraries.  You can reserve rooms online starting the week of November 16th.  To use this new service please visit the “Study Room Reservation System”

The new system incorporates library operating hours, so you can book available rooms during all library operating hours. The system integrates email notification, allowing one person to pick a study group location and notify all included group members.

You can also see details about each room, such as number of seats (from 6 to 10), availability of overhead projectors or writing boards. This information is found in Option 4  “View the List of Rooms“ on the Reserve a Room home page.

Students should use their NetID and Georgetown Law password to access the system.

You can now book a room in five easy steps:

1. Enter the netID
   of at least three persons (the minimum to qualify to reserve a room, including yourself).   Note on the right side of the page there is a “Georgetown University Directory Search” where you can search for the netID’s of your group.
2. Pick a date.
   A drop down calendar menu is presented when you click on the box.  Please note you can make only one room reservation per day, and you can reserve up to 1 week in advance.
3. Select a start and end time
   in 15 minute intervals. The maximum time allowed time is 3 hours.
4. Select the room
   from those available at your chosen date and time.
5. Review the data and submit the request.

We’ve built the system to incorporate existing policies for group study access, and we hope everybody likes having online access to the system.  Of course, for now, you’ll still have to be physically in the library to actually use a group study room.  You just don't have to come here to get one at another time.  :-)

With the advent of near-ubiquitous wireless internet access, distractions are hard to avoid.  The complete question we received was "Has the library ever considered having an internet-free room? That is, a study area where there is no internet/wireless access but computers are allowed. Just a (crazy archaic) thought for increasing paper-writing productivity.

We haven't yet considered this option, but we think it might not work very well in practice.  This is partly for technical reasons, and moreso because we think most students won't want it.

The technical issue is that it's difficult to reliably limit wireless internet access to a specific location. Wireless access points tend to overlap coverage areas, so we don't think it's easy to, say, turn it off for one area while not impacting another part of the library.

From a student perspective, we think people are concerned with more (and more reliable) Internet access, instead of technical restrictions.  A few years ago, we had a laptop-free zone in the library, but we found that many people didn't use it.  To better assess student preferences for quiet study, our 2007 Law Library Student Survey included the question: "What would your perfect quiet study space consist of?"  Almost everybody answering the survey responded to this question.  Somewhat to our surprise, the majority of students wanted laptops as well as headphone music, which you can see in this chart.



For students wanting to limit personal distractions, turning off your laptop wireless access might be the best way to avoid online distractions.  More advanced users might want to read "The Productivity Guide for a Computer Geek". The tips range from the obvious (e.g. turn off your computer, use a pen and paper) to the more advanced (e.g. altering your Windows host file).

One suggestion in this guide is to use a Firefox add-on called LeechBlock. This is a productivity tool that lets you block selected time-wasting sites you find most distracting. All you need to do is specify which sites to block and when to block them.

We have no plans to selectively disable wireless access, but we welcome ideas for other things we can do to help you be more productive.

The student's full comment was:
"Williams Library Temperature Last spring, myself and many other students I know couldn't study in the library because of the constant icy chill. Now, the temperature is perfect, and I can study comfortably for hours on end. Good job, Williams!!"

The library's response:
Thank! With a building as large as Williams it is hard to maintain the perfect temperature throughout the 5 floors. Facilities engineers are constantly monitoring the temperature. We are glad their efforts are paying off. We’ll pass along your comments.

One last note:
The fifth floor tends to be cooler, especially in the winter.   The fourth floor tends to be warmer for most of the year. We have noticed that students work on specific floor based upon individual temperature preferences.

Duplex printing is available for all printers in the library. In order to make this work you must change the settings on the application BEFORE you send you print job out via Pharos.

In Word and Mozilla Firefox
From the "Print" menu select "Properties." Next select "Finishing" and in the "Document Options" check the box labeled "Print on Both Sides" then select OK.
Then follow the standard procedures for sending a print job through Pharos.

In Internet Explorer
From the "Print Preview" menu, click on the "Printer Icon" on the far top left of the menu bar. Next, from the "General tab" select "Preferences" and then select "Finishing" and check the box "Print on Both Sides".
Then follow the standard procedures for sending a print job through Pharos.

They are here!  This week we filled the Robert L. Oakley Reading Room in the Williams Building with handsome brand new chairs!  Try them out.  They are great for your back and we understand they are comfortable for hours at a time.

In order to protect the equipment in the computer labs, Georgetown Law asks that you not bring drinks into any of the computer labs.  
You are free to bring drinks in closed containers into other parts of the library.

 

Very soon. New chairs are arriving in mid-August, and we should have all new chairs by the time classes start this Fall.

Eventually we're replacing all of the chairs in the Robert L. Oakley Reading Room of the E.B.Williams Law Library.  We'll begin by first replacing chairs in the reading room balcony, and gradually we'll replace every chair in the reading room itself.  We'd like to thank those students who provided comments to help us select these new chairs.  The chairs were selected based on direct student input, together in consultation with eronomics experts from various chair manufacturers.

The existing chairs we're replacing will be integrated with seating options in McDonough.

We hope you enjoy them, and expect that we'll have all of the new chairs in time for the start of the Fall semester.

You can.  The library has installed a free self-serve digital scanner in the computer area next to the Williams Reading Room Reserve collection.  Georgetown students can use the machine free of charge.  

Simply enter your Georgetown Law netid and password and you can scan pages from a book on the flat-bed scanner, or use the page feeder feature on the top of the machine. The scanner will automatically send a pdf copy of your scan to your email address.

This is one of three self-serve digiscanners in the library.  One more is on the third floor of Williams and the third is at the Circulation Desk of the Wolff Library.

The Technology Reference Desk on the 3rd floor of Williams is staffed by members of the IST team of information technology specialists. During the academic year, the office is staffed from 9 am to 6 pm every weekday, excluding University holidays. During the Summer Session the hours are 9 am to 4 pm. Students may also contact them by email at studenthelp@law.georgetown.edu or by phone at: 202-662-9284.

If a technician is not available when you stop by, please leave a note with your contact information and a representative will respond promptly when he or she returns.

 Original plans for the library space in the Hotung Building did not include water fountains. Over time we have explored alterations in plumbing and other options and so far none has been deemed feasible without major alterations either in the building or the current arrangements for our water supply. 

We have recently explored more "low-tech" options but these are not entirely practical for public use (as opposed to office use, like a dispenser) but we have our options open and continue to seek a solution. Fortunately there is a café area in close proximity that is open during the regular academic year.