A message from the Amazing Aaron:
As you have probably heard, the English Grad Study Room in Firestone (B-9-J) has been undergoing renovation, and will soon be completed, rejuvenated and ready for your use. Thanks to the generous support of the English Dept, the Graduate Action Committee (GAC) and Firestone Library, we were able to repaint the walls, refinish the floor, afford new shelving and furniture, and reorganize the library books kept in the room. All of this should make this room a nice and productive space for our work. We owe a huge debt of thanks to Karen Mink and Kevin Mensch for acting as our liaison in our efforts — this literally could not have happened without their savvy and persistence.
The final installation of the shelves has occurred, and the majority of the furniture, including a new couch and armchairs, are already arranged and simply yearning to be sat upon. There’s a carpet, as well as a long table and a small desk for your convenience. The desk even has a selection of office supplies in the drawer for your use. A computer terminal will also be installed in the very near future.
There is a huge amount of shelf space, enough for everyone that doesn’t already have a carrel or office to use for their books. There is also will be a smaller shelf in the back left-hand corner that can be used for course reserve readings, so let your professors know it’s there.
There are a few things we can do to ensure the study room remains a clean and useful space:
First off, USE IT!!! Firestone has been looking at ways to reorganize space in the building, and has suggested that the study lounges be reassigned if they are not used by their departments. If you do not already have a key to access the room, please get one from the Access Office. It requires a $10 deposit and will get you into all of the study rooms in the library (except for the Classics Study Room on the 3rd floor).
Second, and related to the first. The room is intended for English Grad Student use only, so please help safeguard your colleagues’ property by keeping the door closed and locked. If you are ever locked out, find the Scrib attendant or the guard at the front desk.
Third, keep it clean. This is primarily our responsibility: please help our efforts to keep the room clean by doing your part to pick up after yourself and to make the jobs easier for the janitors. If the trash can or recycling cans are full, you can set them outside the door to indicate that they need to be emptied. If the room is unusually dirty or there is a big spill, you can fill out a form on the library’s web page to request janitorial services. Otherwise there will be some cleaning supplies on hand in the room for dusting or wiping up minor spills.
Fourth there is a tendency for a space like a study room to become a depository for flotsam and jetsam. Please do your share to throw your unwanted items away rather than leaving it for someone else to pick up. We all have our own junk and probably don’t want yours — no matter how nice it seems.
Fifth, having plants in a study room is a nice way to liven up the space and keep the air fresh. However, there is no library employee that is assigned to keep them alive. There is a watering can in the room, and we encourage its use. We are looking into plant options that require little water, such as cacti or other succulents, but they will still need our help in order to survive. Please give the plants a second of your attention if they seem to need it. There will be a white board near the can that should be used to record the last day they were watered.
Sixth, this our space, and it should be set up and equipped in such a way that will be useful to everyone. Please contact the GAC with suggestions of things to keep in there. As long as it does not violate library policy (such as a coffee maker), it is highly likely that what you need can be found and placed in the room. If you notice something missing or it has run out, then by taking a moment to refill or re-equip that item you will ensure that all of your fellow graduate students have what they need.
Thank you for your consideration and help in preserving the usefulness of our new study Lounge.
Best,
Aaron Hostetter
