Working in a supportive, aesthetically pleasing environment can really take some of the pain off of grinding through that 15-page paper or studying for that exam. But wait, you tell me that you have too little time to tour all the libraries to find which one will fit your study habits the best? Hate navigating the hill? We’ve got you covered – check out our close look at Brown’s best study spaces to find one that works for you.
John Hay Library:
Pros:
- Quiet, if you’re into that kind of thing
- Can feel privileged when you walk in through the side door after the public plebs are barred *swipe*
- Cute bear content on walls for procrastination material (Go Bruno!)
- The reading room aesthetic that your high school self dreamed of
- Best bathrooms. Cleanest. Probably the newest. Dramatic lighting. Doesn’t smell like a toilet. Feels like a hotel.
Cons:
- Deathly silent. As in, if I sneeze my self-conscious ass can feel the strangers looking up in confusion as to who would invade the sacred silence
- In the rare presence of sunlight, the windows are angled in a way that “the light hits your laptop screen and you have to keep switching seats” quote from a friend because I’ve never experienced the John Hay and sun at the same time
- White busts of old (probably white) men stare down at you, and you’re not really sure why but it’s off-putting
- Always spooked that the human-skin-bound books somewhere in the library is attracting ghosts
Four stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ for the aesthetic
The John D. Rockefeller Library (“The Rock”)
Pros:
- Can seek complete isolation in the stacks
- Can seek complete auditory isolation in the Absolute Quiet Room
- Musty smell of books if you’re into that kind of thing, which I am, so
- Kind of has a decent view, beautiful sunsets
Cons:
- If in the stacks after 10 p.m., your overactive imagination kicks in and you have a sudden irrational fear that an ancient monster will spawn somewhere between The Economic Journal and the Gallup Political & Economic Index and eat you alive, and that would just be such a terrible way to die
- LTE cuts off in the elevator and four floors with a stranger in a dark enclosed space is too much time to spend with a stranger without looking distractedly into social media
- If you get too close to the books there is sometimes lots of dust and it will make you sneeze
- Printer ate my money once
Three stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ because this is a good place to write papers or just curl up on a couch
The Sciences Library (“The SciLi”)
Pros:
- If lacking social interaction that day, go to the basement to fill up your daily quota of human faces
- Somewhat close to the Ratty/Ivy Room/Thayer Street to satiate your hunger cravings and keep you alive
- Generally centrally located, can print material and get to class on time
Cons:
- Faith in Brown students’ ability to keep instructions on signs exponentially decreases
- “00 decibels” ? ??
- The 10 p.m. Sunday night bathroom nastiness level is real high. Goodness people how do you aim that badly
- The only view for your tired eyes is going to be the concrete wall or the small withering trees in the atrium
- Sometimes so full that you take it as a sign from an all-knowing deity that you shall not study today
- Printers have eaten my money several times
Two stars ⭐ ⭐ but I spend the most of my time here so the SciLi is the real winner here
The Fleet Library (“The RISD Library” but only for people who don’t know its real name)
TECHNICALLY not Brown’s library but accessible with Brown ID so it counts
Pros:
- Not on Brown’s campus
- People respect it enough to call it by its actual name
- Usually has seats
- Beautiful… so beautiful that I was writing my paper and my will to live reappeared after looking up into the ceiling
- I mean look at it.
- Wow
- Nice orange lighting, none of this Rock/Scili bright white LED eye-pain sadness
- Not brutalist
- Even more dreamy reading room vibes than the John Hay, AND remains open later than the John Hay
- Next to RISD’s Portfolio Café, which smells like food. Delicious
- Has 5 stars on Google Maps
- For reference: the Rock has 4.13 ⭐s on Google Maps
Cons:
- Is across the river, on 15 Westminster Street: need to walk back up The Hill
- Probably not going to run into your friends (which might be a good thing during finals season)
- That’s it.
FIVE STARS ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ would transfer schools if I had artistic talent enough to be accepted to RISD