Rationale

The mission of the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries is:  “To support and strengthen teaching, learning, and research by providing the collections, services, and environments that lead to intellectual discovery.”  The Quiet Policy that follows has been developed to encourage individuals to respect the rights of all library users and to help create an environment that promotes learning and supports research.

Policy

Areas within a library may be designated as follows:

  • Quiet Area:  Use is reserved for individual research and study with library materials.  NO STUDY GROUPS.
  • Limited Talking:  Use of library resources may require library staff assistance, instruction and/or consultation.  There may be residual noise from programs and media. Personal conversations and extended talking are not appropriate.
  • Group Study Areas:  Talking in normal conversational tones is permitted as appropriate for collaboration and small group (2-8) discussion. Large groups (more than 8), loud talking and other disruptive behavior is not appropriate.  Work on class projects, tutoring and joint use of library materials is encouraged.

All Indiana University Bloomington Libraries attempt to maintain quiet study areas.  The availability of limited talking and group study areas is dependent upon the size and configuration of the individual libraries.  Some cannot support limited and unlimited talking areas.

Cell phones: While in the library, please turn off your ringer or set your phone to vibrate.  Confine your voice conversations to non-library spaces in the building or, in the case of the Wells Library, to the lobbies or the cafeteria.

 

Quiet Areas in Bloomington Campus Libraries

Herman B Wells Library

Quiet Areas:

East Tower Reference Reading Room and Floors 4-11
West Tower 2nd and 3rd Floors

 

Limited Talking:

East Tower Reference Desk Area
Circulation Desk Area                                                                                  
Government Information, Maps & Microform Services (GIMMS), 2nd floor
Ground Floor Moving Image Collections and Archives

 

Group Study Areas:

Main Lobby                                                                                                              
West Tower 1st Floor, Learning Commons
4th and 5th Floors

 

IUB Branch Libraries

Business/SPEA Information Commons limited talking and group study areas
Education Library quiet and limited talking areas
Lilly Library quiet
Music Library quiet, limited talking, and unlimited talking areas
Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library limited talking with one quiet study room
Sciences Library quiet, limited talking, and group study areas
University Archives quiet