Sophie Kerr Room

Policy for the Use of the Sophie Kerr Room

The Sophie Kerr Room on the second floor of Miller Library serves as the home of Miller Library's Rare Book Collection. The room is also available for reservation by campus groups as a conference room or a special events space for lectures, readings, or presentations.  During the semester, this room is made available to the adjacent Office of Academic Skills as a training and tutoring space. Any campus group that would like to reserve the room for any of these purposes should contact Campus Events, or fill out their Event Request Form.

 

The following policies apply to the use of this room:

• The second floor of Miller Library is a designated Quiet Study floor. Please be mindful of this while traveling through the second floor and while using the room.
• Capacity of the room is limited to 15 people at a time. 
• No food or drink is to be consumed or served in the space in order to protect our special collections. Individuals may bring in water in spill-proof containers.
• Start time for any events cannot precede 8:30 am during business days or 10:30 am on weekends.
• The room is not currently available for use as a classroom.
• Library personnel reserve the right to open the room for use as study space for students when demand is high (i.e., near the end of the semester or before exams) and the room is not reserved.
• Please leave the room as you found it, removing any extra materials and disposing of trash.
• Thank you!

 

Procedures and FAQs for use of the Newlin Room and the Sophie Kerr Room outside of the Library’s staffed/open hours:

In the event of a fire/emergency alarm:  Exit the building through the front doors (Newlin Room) or via the rear staircase next to the elevator, which leads to the Fire Exit on the ground floor (Sophie Kerr.)

For any other emergency or building problem, please call Public Safety (410)778-7810 and, in the case of a health emergency, call 911.

There is an emergency defibrillator on the wall beside the main entrance.

The main phone for the Library is located at the Circulation Desk, next to the computer terminal.

Restrooms are located in the hallway at the rear of the building on the main floor, just past the elevator. Go through the Information Commons area and turn left.  There are additional restrooms in the front hallway on the ground floor, and the rear hallway on the second floor.

Technology Assistance is available from the OIT Help Desk, located next door in Smith Hall, during the hours that they are open (410)778-7777. 

Food and beverages are permitted in the Newlin Room.  No food is permitted in the Sophie Kerr Room, but you may bring in water in a closed single-use container.

Please have your attending WC employee* keep an eye on the front doors while your group is here.  People may assume that the building is open if they see the lights on and if the doors are unlocked; please politely let them know that the building is only open to the group that has reserved the space.  If you are using the Sophie Kerr Room, your attending employee should remain downstairs in view of the main entrance.

Dispose of any trash, leftover food, recyclables or other items in appropriate receptacles on the main floor of the library when you leave.

Please turn off the building lights when you leave.  The switch panel is located on the wall to the left of the Circulation Desk, in the small hallway leading to Tech Services.

Please notify Public Safety when you leave, so they can do a security sweep and lock the building. (410)778-7810

Thank you!

* The attending WC employee is the person designated by the group sponsoring the event who acts as “staff member on duty” when the event occurs outside library hours, when library staff are not present.