Online Study Room Booking

The Online study room booking system will go live in September. Here are the room booking policies:

• Booking Policies:
  -You are responsible for ensuring the Library is actually open at the time of your booking. Please check the Gerstein Library Hours before booking your study room.
  -Occupancy Minimum: 3 persons per room.
  -Rooms can be booked for up to 3 hours per week.
  -Rooms can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance.
  -Rooms booked, but unoccupied after 15 minutes will become available to other students.
  
  Code of Conduct:
  -Eating is not permitted in study rooms .
  -For the comfort of all, please dispose of all garbage and recyclables when your booking is finished.
  -Study rooms are not sound-proof; please be respectful of others in the area when meeting as a group.
  -Rooms are for studying and group work, and not to be used for classes. For spaces to hold tutorials and other classes, please contact the Office of Space Management or your Department.
  -Everyone using the study rooms is expected to abide by the Library Code of Conduct.
  
  Disclaimer:
  -University of Toronto Libraries are not responsible for loss or damage of items left unattended in the room.

Please have students email ask.gerstein@utoronto.ca if they have questions or comments.

Procedure for Clearing Abandoned Study Rooms

This came out of a librarians meeting earlier in the year, when we had received some complaints from students about study rooms being left 'abandoned' with people's belongings in them for long periods of time.

Jeff has modified the sign at the end of the study room corridor on the 2nd floor to note the '20 min rule.'

PROCEDURES FOR CLEARING AN ABANDONED STUDY ROOM

This procedure should be followed when a group of students complains that they are looking for a study room, and there is a room left abandoned with people’s belongings in it.

Staff member will notify a supervisor or librarian (or Peter Gurney, Dana or Jeff if a supervisor is not available) of the situation and:

- the supervisor verifies that 3 people are waiting for the room and there are no other rooms in the area which could be used

- when possible, if there is another room with 2 or fewer students in it, they should be asked to vacate first, before the abandoned room is used.

- 20 minutes after the initial report the supervisor goes to the group room, verifies again that no other room could be used, moves the abandoned possessions to a corner of the room and leaves the flyer explaining the group room policy (Flyers are found at the Loan services desk and also in the 2nd Floor RRUnit staff lounge filing cabinet)

During evenings and weekends, Library Patrol will handle the clearing of abandoned rooms.

Group Study Room Policy

Group Study Room policy is now as follows:

• Rooms are for the use of groups of 3 or more students. One or two individuals using a Group Study room should be prepared to move if requested to do so by groups of 3 or more students. Thank you for your cooperation.
• Covered beverages are permitted but eating is not.

These changes are now on a sign at the entrance to the new group study rooms on the second floor by the journal stacks. However, the policy applies to all our group study rooms.

Please direct groups of 2 to our 1 Below group study 'area' as an alternative. (below the reference room)