Study Rooms

Law Library study rooms are available to UW Law School students. Law faculty, staff, or student organizations who would like to make block reservations for a class, program, or special project, should contact circ@law.wisc.edu. 

Undergraduates and other non-Law UW students looking for study room space may reserve study rooms at other campus libraries, such as College or Memorial Library. Reserve a study room at another campus library here. 

Rooms can be reserved using the online study room reservation system, or at the Circulation Desk. There are two ways to make a reservation using the online system:  

1. Click on the “Reserve a Study Room” link at the bottom of the grid. A reservation screen will pop up. Fill in the time (up to 2 hours per session), location (choose an available study room) and name your reservation. You can give your reservation any name that you choose. This name will be viewable by others, making it easy for study partners to locate your group. Click “Make Reservation”. You will see a confirmation box pop up, and your reservation appears on the grid.  

1. You can also click on the grid itself to make a reservation. If you click on a specific study room, that room will be pre-selected for you when the reservation screen pops up. Follow the same directions as above and your reservation will be made.  

So that the study rooms are available to as many law students as possible, each student is allowed to reserve four hours of study room time (in up to two-hour blocks) each day. Once that quota is reached, you will not be able to reserve any more study room time on your own. If you want more time, feel free to come to the Circulation Desk on the fifth floor, where we can review reservations and give you extra time if there is space available.  

The Study Lab (downstairs on the second floor, across from the wall with class photos) is also available as a collaboration space and does not need to be checked out. 

A red reservation means that the key is not checked out for that reservation. A green reservation with a thick black outline means that the key has already been checked out. This is a good way to see if your study group already has the key, or if a reservation is going unused and the room may be available. 

You have 15 minutes to pick up the keys once your reservation starts. For example, if your reservation begins at 1:00pm, you have until 1:15pm to check out the keys. At 1:16pm, the library staff reserves the right to cancel your reservation and give it to another student who may be waiting.  

At the time of your reservation, come to the Circulation Desk with your Wiscard. The library staff will then check the key out to your account for the allotted time.  

Study room keys should remain in the Law Library, so if you are not done with your study room but must leave the library briefly, the Circulation Desk Assistant can hold your key at the desk until you return. 

Yes, as long as the reservation has not yet started. Doing so will make the room available to others and free up your quota time. Once a reservation has started, only a member of the library staff can cancel it.  

Some study rooms are reserved for interview programs, special classes, or projects, such as OCI or Moot Court. These study rooms will be reserved under the program or project’s name. Once that reservation has been made, the study room will be reserved only for that class, but broken into smaller amounts of time that can be reserved by students in that class.  

For example, the Office of Career and Professional Development may reserve a room from 9am to 5pm for interviews. Within that reservation, students participating in OCI can make sub-reservations in 15-minute increments by clicking on the reservation name and then clicking on “Reserve” next to each 15-minute increment they would like to book. 

The Law Library’s twelve study rooms are located as follows: 

• One room on the fifth floor (just inside the entrance to the Quarles & Brady Reading Room, near the water fountain). 
• Four rooms on the third floor:
  • Three on the south wing (near the bathrooms)
  • One on the east wing (far north side near Bascom Hill)
• Seven rooms on the second floor:
  • Three rooms near the Microforms room
  • One located across from the elevator, near the Alumni photos
  • Three rooms on the east wing (far north side near Bascom Hill) 
    

You can find maps of each floor of the library here. The Circulation Desk Assistant can also help direct you to your study room when you check out your key. 

Most rooms have a whiteboard and a podium except for 5350, 3370, 2370, 2376, and 2378. Three rooms (2384, 3335, 3339) each also have a monitor with an HDMI cord that can be connected to a personal laptop. 

Please contact the Law School Media & AV Services if you need additional equipment in a study room. 

No, eating is not permitted. The Library Code of Conduct applies to use of the study rooms, which includes our Food & Beverage Policy. Beverages may be consumed from closed containers. 

Law Library users deserve a clean and quiet atmosphere to study, and insects and rodents attracted by food pose a danger to the library collection. 

The Circulation Staff is happy to help with the reservation system or answer any questions you have about our study rooms. Feel free to either come to the Circulation Desk on the fifth floor of the library, call us at 608-262-1128, or email us at circ@law.wisc.edu.