students study in the A.D. White Reading Room in Uris Library

Which Cornell Library Are You?

You spent untold hours studying in them—but which one channels your personality? Answer eight questions and find out!

(Top: Photo by Sreang Hok / Cornell University.)

Published September 16, 2024


Comments

  1. Cindy Fuller, Class of 1978

    I would have pegged myself as an A.D. White person. I used to love looking at the old Cornellian yearbooks instead of studying. In reality, I spent more time as an undergrad and grad in the old Vet School Library, which was ringed with a gallery of retired profs. I do agree with preferring a real book to an electronic one.

  2. Randall Nixon, Class of 1978

    I fell in love with one of my double majors — history — because of the time I spent in the AD White Room. I would study there and pick out books that weren’t assigned and the I had no time to read, but I snuck in guilty reading time anyway.

  3. Karen Lesh, Class of 1997

    This is great! I would have guessed Uris, but Kroch it is!

    • Amy Wang Manning, Class of 1990

      I got Kroch too! Doubly appropriate as my father was a longtime Olin librarian.

  4. Anthony Prisco, Class of 1995

    Uris makes sense, when I went to the library, that was usually the one. Mann in between classes since I was in Ag. Later on I started to enjoy the law library since it was close to college town.

  5. RICHARD NDAYIZIGAMIYE, Class of 2016

    Olin Library was my jam. The Africana Center library was my home for my Masters degree.
    A GREAT Cornell experience overall. My second home way from home.

  6. T Lord, Class of 1977

    agreed on the AD White reading room

  7. Daryl Goldgraben Smith

    Fun! I would have answered none of the above to the choices, but in the end URIS is indeed where I spent much of my time looking out over libe slope!

    • Leila Joyner Smith, Class of 1965

      as did most of us in those days!

  8. Barbara Redden Leamer, Class of 1957

    The Kroch is indeed interesting — had a tour at reunion once. But I spent a great part of my student time in a carrell in Uris, either in the back of the small room (then) or in the stacks. I thought I would come out with Uris for sure!

  9. Pat Reilly, Class of 1978

    A.D. White Library was my favorite place to study, especially by the window looking out over the lake, but somehow I got Kroch!

  10. Stephanie Hochman Mollin, Class of 1992

    Cherished my Olin stack pass and loved being there. I could get great studying done in the Clark Physical Sciences library. A.D. White was a favorite too.

    • Tim Lynch, Class of 1990

      I spent a ton of time in the Physical Sciences library, yes — maybe even two tons, since I was there both as a student and as an employee. I’m probably the only person from the class of 1990 who can say I’m physically touched every single volume that the library owned at the time — thank you, inventory days.

      And I was tickled to see The Princess Bride come up as one of the options for movies, since seeing that movie was the third date I had with my eventual wife, Lisa Hazard ’91.

      Lastly, I’m not sure I was ever in Mann Library, but I was amused a few years later to learn that the head of that library was also named Tim Lynch!

  11. Sheriar Shaw

    Mallot Hall Library! 👏👍

  12. Will Andersen, Class of 1993

    The Fish Ball at Uris Hall Library where I found cozy nooks to study compared to large open library reading rooms. Kroch library was under construction when I attended Cornell where I could see myself funding a nook to study. 6es, I do prefer paper books verse digital and as love exploring antiquity collection items and reading rare books.

  13. Susan Littman, Class of 1980

    I got Kroch as well, where I have never been. Maybe next time I go to Ithaca I will visit. As a freshman, we went to Uris, loved finding a desk in the stacks! Sometimes liked to go to Olin but much more social there. Later on Mann since I was up on the Ag campus in those years.

  14. Houston Stokes, Class of 1962

    I enjoyed working in Mann since the desks were great.

  15. Claire Heller Burday, Class of 1973

    The wonderful Cornell libraries were a factor in my decision to become a librarian. I worked at the Mann reserve desk and spent a lot of time exploring its stacks as well as those of many of the other libraries. The notable exception was Olin, which, sadly, had closed stacks. I particularly liked the lesser-known libraries such as the Entomology Library, which I believe was in Comstock Hall at that time. I’ve retired from corporate librarianship but I’m a volunteer reference librarian at a museum library working with manuscripts, ephemera, and other special collections so Kroch makes sense to me!

    • Kim Fisher, Class of 2006

      I used to study at the Entomology Library right before finals that I had at Barton Hall since it was nearby. I liked it, but none of my friends ever went there!

  16. John Dietl, Class of 2011

    The A.D. White reading room is a jewel of the campus. It would sure be lovely if the fireplace was in use.

    However, as a student I spent most of my library time leafing through old engineering journals and textbooks, which ended up being quite profitable for my dissertation. It’s a shame what happened to that library.

  17. Vicki O'Meara, Class of 1979

    What a fun quiz and surprising result. I’ve never been to Kroch but definitely own the description. Time spent in many libraries, though I must confess was always not so productive, is among my best memories of Cornell.

  18. Joan Karliner Leighton, Class of 1964

    The Wason Room at the back of the first floor of Olin Library was a great hideaway…as well as being the reading room for those in Asian Studies. And on Olin’s second floor was a large faculty lounge…there never seemed to be anyone using it so I did! Treasured that Olin stack pass.

  19. Matt Brown, Class of 1984

    Loved studying in the stacks at Uris. Although I did waste a lot of time looking through the old Sears Catalogs!

  20. Jeri Frank, Class of 1976

    I spent countless hours in Mann Library, until closing time at 11 many nights, often taking overnight reading home that I had to return the next day. I loved the long two-sided slanting tables, and I was sorry not to see any after the renovation when I was last there in 2016 for my 40th reunion. Maybe they saved one and have it stashed somewhere that I didn’t see. The new library is glorious, though, but at this point I’m glad I don’t have to do all that studying anymore!

  21. Philip Howles, Class of 1977

    Uris was my go to library – close to the U-halls and where my friends and I hung out. Kroch sounds like it is more my style but wasn’t there back in the mid-70s.

  22. R, Class of 2019

    I got Uris from the quiz, but I wasn’t a huge fan when I was studying there. I’m a huge Olin fan.

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