Getting Around the Library

Exterior of Lauinger Library

The Library has books, but it’s also got so much more. Prepare for our eventual reopening and get your bearings with a review of the spaces within the library.

Lauinger Library, the main library building, has six floors (the Lower Level and floors 1–5), and it can be a bit overwhelming when you’re first starting out. You’ll enter on the third floor—turn left to find the elevator or stairs to other levels.

Books are shelved throughout the Library in order by call number. You’ll find call numbers starting with A—DD on the first floor, DE–F on the second floor, G–PN on the fourth, and PQ–ZA on the fifth floor.

What about other materials? The first floor has government documents, Arabic and Islamic Studies reference books, and Chinese, Japanese, and Korean reference books. The second floor holds the library’s DVD collection, as well as oversized books and quartos. The third floor is home to our main collection of reference materials (which can be used in the library but not checked out). You can also check out multimedia equipment from the Service Desk on the third floor. Periodicals, microfilm, and microfiche materials are shelved on the lower level. The lower level is currently closed, but materials housed there may be requested via HoyaSearch.

The Library has many other spaces you will want to get to know. The first floor houses the Gelardin Center and the Maker Hub. Head to the second floor to find the Writing Center and the Midnight Mug coffee shop, which both anticipate reopening in September. The Booth Family Center for Special Collections occupies much of the fifth floor.

There are several classroom and meeting spaces you may want to use, including:

  • The Dubin Classroom, on the first floor, which is intended as a library research instruction classroom.
  • The Murray Room on the fifth floor is normally available for academic meetings and university-sponsored events.
  • The Multimedia CoLaboratory offers group editing stations and an instructor station. It is available to faculty on arrangement with the Digital Scholarship unit.
  • The Idea Lab next to the Maker Hub can be reserved for meetings and classes. It offers moveable whiteboard tables, rolling whiteboard easels, and other tools to facilitate discussion and communication.
  • Part of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections, the Barbara Ellis Jones Inquiry Classroom allows classes to see and work with special collections materials. Contact Booth librarians for information about bringing classes.

The Georgetown University Library encompasses several specialized libraries. The Bioethics Research Library on the first floor of Healy Hall offers access to premier collections of bioethics literature, including collections that explore issues from a variety of cultural and religious perspectives, and archival collections documenting the history of bioethics in the United States. In the Reiss Science Building, Blommer Science Library houses 60,000 books and journals on biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics. The SCS Library in downtown D.C. provides materials and services supporting the School of Continuing Studies.

A limited number of semi-private faculty carrels with lockable doors are available to Main Campus teaching faculty. Faculty carrels are shared by up to three faculty members and are assigned as space is available.