Welcome to the Robert L. Carothers Library & Learning Commons!

This guide will lead you on a tour of the Library. When you have completed it, you will have a good idea of the layout of the building, and you will have learned about some of the services and materials available in the Library.

The tour begins on the First Floor of the Library, at the front door. Between the front entrance and the second set of doors, on the right is the After Hours entrance to the 24-Hour Study Room. You will need to swipe your I.D. to enter. Through the second set of doors, straight ahead, you will see the security gates. 

To your right is the main entrance to the 24-Hour Study Room. The Daily Grind Café sells food and beverages there during the Spring and Fall semesters. You are free to take small snack items and covered beverages into the rest of the Library, but large meals or messy items should remain in the 24-Hour Room. Near the Daily Grind there are machines where you can add money to your RAM Account or purchase a one-time copy slip. There is also an office supply vending machine here.

Once you enter the lobby, you will see the Circulation Desk immediately to your left. Library materials, including materials requested from other libraries, can be checked out and returned here. This is also where you register your library barcode so that you can borrow books and access the Libraries’ many online services. The Reserves Desk is also here. This is where you can find materials that have been set aside by faculty to be used in a particular course, or get help accessing the E-Reserves materials. A valid library card is required for borrowing Reserves items.

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Across from the 24-Hour Room, you will see a seating area supporting the main lobby. This is a great place to meet your friends before getting a study room, or gather before a workshop or class in the library!

On the other side of the wall housing the lobby seating area and just beyond the Circulation Desk is the _SPACE.URI, an academically focused Makerspace open to the University of Rhode Island community.  They offer shared access to fabrication, 2D/3D design and virtual reality technologies.

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Next door to the _SPACE.URI is Rm.166 or the Active Learning Classroom. It is organized around nine pods for up to six students each (maximum 54 students). Each pod has whiteboard space, a flatscreen display, audio jacks, and three laptop computers. To facilitate class presentations and discussions, instructors can share content from any display to all other displays in the classroom.

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If you continue along the same wall that _SPACE.URI and the Active Learning Classroom are located on and just past the restrooms you will find the Government Publications. The URI Library is a partial depository for materials published by the Federal Government and the RI State Government. The Govt Pub and Sta Pub Collections are behind the offices.

As you return to the lobby, you will see Room 142, the Teaching-Learning Technology Center. Workshops on Library and online research are often conducted in this room. Faculty may make arrangements with the Reference subject specialists for specific subject-oriented instruction.

The Artificial Intelligence Lab supports two complementary goals. One is to enable students to explore projects on robotics, natural language processing, smart cities, smart homes, the Internet of Things and big data, with tutorials at beginner through advanced levels. The other is to serve as a hub for ideas, a place for faculty, students and the community to explore the social, ethical, economic and even artistic implications of these emerging technologies.

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At the center staircase on your right, you will find the Floor Directory and Map. Each level of the Library has a Directory and Map at the staircase.

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Past the stairs on the right is the Pop Up Learning Lab. The (PULL) can be scheduled for information literacy and library-related instruction sessions by URI course instructors or professional staff for workshop-style classes where students need desktop computers and access to other library materials. Other University groups and committees may schedule the space for a maximum of three hours on a case by case basis. The space has a capacity of 24 and closes one half hour before building closes.

The Info & Research Help Desk is located on the left just across from Reference Online Center. The Desk is staffed most of the hours the Library is open. Librarians are available to answer your questions about the Library and to help you locate materials and information.

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The Reference Stacks begin at the edge of the Reference Online Center and extend into the corner of the building. The Reference Stacks contain encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, older indexes and abstracts and other reference sources. These materials do not circulate. The Curriculum Materials collection is located at the end of the Reference Stacks.

The far end of the First Floor is home to an area known as the Learning Commons. This is a collaborative study space with group study areas and rooms, as well as a Presentation Practice Room.

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Now return to the central staircase and go down the stairs to the Lower Level. To your left, past the serials stacks, is the Student Computing Facility. Access to this facility requires you to have a URI student, faculty or staff ID. There you can use e-mail, type papers, use statistical packages and access the Internet. You can also find staff to help you with copying, printing, and basic tech questions.

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Right outside the MRC is the Microform Area. Newspapers, ERIC documents, and the back issues of certain periodicals are available on microfiche or microfilm. Reader/printers are also available. Assistance with microform is available from the Media Resources Center during most hours the Library is open.

The Help Desk is to the right as you exit the stairs. The Help Desk can assist you with common technology problems, including lost passwords, technical issues, and so on. Most of the rest of the floor contains the Bound Serials, older issues or periodicals which have been bound together in volumes for preservation. They are shelved in call number order.

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Lower Level: To the right of the Help Desk you will find signage leading to LL12 and LL11B, the latter is also known as the RE:Space. Both are often scheduled for Library Instruction classes, but the RE:Space can also be scheduled for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classes by URI course instructors or professional staff for classes where students will benefit from close proximity and access to library materials and resources. URI instructors may reserve the RE:Space for their own teaching. Priority is given to information literacy and library related instruction sessions.

Re-enter the main stairwell and climb to the Second Floor. Here you will find books with call numbers starting in the letters Q through Z. Straight ahead are group study rooms and research carrels.

Turn to your right and you will see Distinctive Collections, located right next to the stairwell. Here you will find the University Archives, the Rhode Island Collection, rare books, and the manuscript collection. All materials must be used in the room, which is open from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday.

Just past Distinctive Collections, you will see the offices for DataSpark. 

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The Library Administration is in the office suite in the front of this floor. It includes Conference Rooms which are frequently used by campus organizations.

Go back to the central staircase and go up to the Third Floor. This is where books with the call numbers beginning  A through P are shelved. If you were to turn left you will see the Galanti Lounge, a meeting room frequently used for various campus functions. There is a Walk Through Time picture history of the University circling this floor.

Additional information:

• There are two elevators in the building, one across from the Circulation Desk and the other in the Reference Stacks.

• Restrooms and copy machines are located on each floor. The floor plans near the central stairs will show the exact locations.

• Individual research/study carrels and group study carrels are located on the Second and Third Floors. Information about them can be found in the Individual Research/Study Carrel policy.

Ways to Get Research Help

Visit us at the
Info & Research Help Desk

Call Us
(During Info & Research Help Desk Hours)

(401) 874-2653

Chat With Us
(During Info & Research Help Desk Hours)

Click Here to Start

Email Us
(After Regular Hours)

urilibrarian@gmail.com

(Please allow 2-3 business days for a response)

Created by:

• Sylvia C. Krausse 7/95

Revised by:

• Sylvia C. Krausse 2/97, 8/97
• Mary C. MacDonald 7/98
• Sylvia C. Krausse 7/99
• Andrée J. Rathemacher 8/02
• Margaret J. Keefe 5/06
• Amanda Izenstark 2/07, 8/07, 2/10, 5/10
• Katie Leahy, 6/14
• Amanda Izenstark, 6/17
• Taylor St. Pierre 12/18, 5/19