For the rare few who may not know, Earl Gregg Swem Library is our wonderful library here on campus. This building has housed many of us during this ongoing second wave of midterms and many more will soon fill its countless nooks and crannies as finals season rapidly approaches.
However, with so many different areas of Swem to choose from, how would a newcomer to the Swem studying arena know the best place to lock in and hunker down for weeks on end? The Read and Relax area provides the studier with a much different experience than the stacks of the third floor or the Botetourt Gallery, so what is truly the best study spot?
To answer this question, I knew there was no better place to look than Swem itself. The answers from polled students didn’t vary too widely considering the wide variety of study spaces available to us. However, this will mean more competition for our favorite seats during finals season, so you may want to start thinking of a way to protect your study spot now!
The noise level seemed to be a common theme in student’s answers — some love the hustle and bustle whereas others despise it. Read and Relax on the first floor provides a comfortable and chatty space and is perfect for those group projects that are impossible to schedule a meeting time for. Meanwhile, the third floor requires complete silence to stop any distractions, including any snack breaks you may have thought about taking.
Some students noted their fondness for the laughter of the welcoming first floor, such as Marin Reeds ’28 whose favorite study spot is Read and Relax. However, others find the space to be too busy, such as Luke Mertes ’28.
“My least favorite is the first floor where people talk a lot and yell, and it’s very distracting,” Mertes said.
Other students feel drawn to their study space based on how closed off from the outside world they can be. Some love to look out of a window and see the sun and the trees. Some enjoy people watching, gazing at students walking by who aren’t studying like you’re supposed to be.
“My favorite study spot is the second floor by the windows facing behind Swem,” Sarah Matyja ’28 said. “I like the sun on me while studying, and I lock in best.”
My personal favorite study spot is on the first floor to the left of the desktops at a hightop table facing out of a window, or the corner of the second floor with two big whiteboards and two windows. Being able to see nature but keep my back to the people around me helps me to really focus on my work, and a whiteboard is always a plus for those last minute brain dumps before a big exam.
Comfort is another big factor in many of our studying selections, whether environmental or physical. For some of us, the discomfort can be very motivating and help us to get our work done faster. For others it ruins the whole studying experience and prohibits getting anything done.
Helen Murphy ’28 explained her favorite study spot is on the second floor by the windows in one of the armchairs.
“It’s comfortable but also really quiet,” Murphy said.
Getting cozy in an armchair and being able to watch the sunset through a window can feel like the perfect end to a long day of classes, and it provides a very calming Swem experience — maybe too calming, as I never seem to get work done when I take this route.
The environment of your study space can also create a wide variety of productivity levels. If it’s too quiet, students may feel uncomfortable and unable to work due to their fear of having the whole library know it was them who opened that bag of chips. For Rosalyn Connor ’28, a too-quiet space is not the right fit.
“My least favorite is the 24-hour study place, because I just don’t like the vibes in there,” Connor said.
Many others do not like the second and third floors due to their eerily quiet and oftentimes tense atmosphere.
The plethora of study rooms in the library did not go without mention either. Grace Hunsicker ’28, whose favorite study spot is room 246 on the second floor, advocated for the group study rooms. The study rooms are crucial for group projects or panicked whiteboard scribbling the night before a big deadline.
With so much variety in Swem, it can be hard to choose a favorite spot. Column 15 provides a chill atmosphere for sipping a latte and reading a book, whereas the third floor traps you into a world of only you and your work. There is never a wrong option when you walk into Swem, and there are so many more spots than just what was covered in this small sample of our campus population. With a tie between the second and first floor for these student’s favorite study spots, I guess the question still remains — what is the best Swem study spot?
