Policies for Room Use

Learn more about policies for each type of available room:

Single Study

Group Study

Graduate Study Carrels

Faculty Study & Carrels

Theatre

Instruction Labs

Single Study Room Policy

Single Study rooms are available to current UNO students, faculty, and staff only for up to three hours.

Patrons who do not abide by these policies will forfeit their single study room privileges for the remainder of the day.

• You must have your MavCard to enter the room.
• Rooms are intended for individual use only.
• Group study rooms are available for collaborative work.
• Rooms may be reserved up to four weeks in advance either on the library website, in person, or over the phone.
• A room may be renewed if the following three hour block has not been reserved by another person.
• Rooms must be vacated 15 minutes before the library is scheduled to close.
• If you are 15 minutes late for your reservation, it may be cancelled due to the high demand of the space.
• The room is intended for academic study and research purposes. Individuals that engage in non-academic or disruptive behavior will be asked to leave the study room.
• Criss Library is not responsible for items left unattended.

Group Study Room Policy

Group study rooms are available to current UNO students, faculty and staff only for up to three hours.

Keys are available for checkout at the circulation desk. The key is the sole responsibility of the user to whom it is checked out. Do not give the key to other members of the group. Rooms that have been reserved but are not checked out within 15 minutes after the start time will be released for use by another group.

Patrons who do not abide by these policies will forfeit their group study room privileges for the remainder of the day.

• You must have your MavCard to enter the room.
• Rooms are intended for use by groups of two or more. Individual use is not allowed.
• Rooms may be reserved up to four weeks in advance either on the Library website, in person or over the phone.
• A room may be renewed if the following three hour block has not been reserved by another group.
• Rooms can only be reserved for three hours at a time by a study group.
• Individuals in the study group may not make multiple back-to-back reservations to increase the reservation time.
• Rooms must be vacated 15 minutes before the Library is scheduled to close.
• If you are 15 minutes late for your reservation, it may be cancelled due to the high demand of the space.
• The room is intended for academic study and research purposes. Groups that engage in non-academic or disruptive behavior will be asked to leave the study room.
• Criss Library is not responsible for items left unattended.

Graduate Study Carrel Policy

Eligibility

Currently enrolled graduate students in good standing in their respective schools are eligible to apply for a study carrel. Graduate assistants who have office space available to them are not eligible for these carrels. Notification of such office space will result in loss of carrel assignment.

The following list prioritizes those individuals eligible for a carrel:

1. Ph.D. candidates
2. Masters students
3. Honors students

Disbursement & Length of Assignments

Carrels are assigned on a per-semester basis and eligible users may renew them for subsequent semesters.

Carrel location will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Students may request a specific individual to share the carrel space. The library will make every attempt to accommodate sharing requests.

Unless otherwise approved, two students per carrel will be assigned. The carrels must be shared on a mutually-agreeable time-share basis: Occupants are encouraged to regularly discuss and agree on time-sharing schedules and the shared file drawer.

Library staff will not negotiate time-sharing for carrels and are not responsible for personal contents stored in the shared drawer nor the overhead bins. If no agreement on scheduling can be reached between the two occupants, one of the occupants may move to another carrel if one is available.

Security

Students will be issued a key to one individual overhead locking bin and a key for the shared file drawer. Keys may not be duplicated or loaned to other individuals. Keys must be returned to the Main Service Desk at the end of the loan period.

Loss of a key or failure to return a key will incur a charge of $69 for lock change and installation costs. A library hold will be placed on the student's account until payment is made.

Lost keys should be reported immediately to the Circulation Desk. Replacement keys will be made available after payment of required charges.

Renewals

• Notices for carrel renewals will be distributed via email a week before the following dates:

• December 10 for the following spring semester
• May 2 for the following summer & fall semesters

Failure to receive a carrel renewal notice does not excuse a patron from overdue fines.

Carrel renewal or the return of carrel keys is required by the close of the academic semester.

Carrels may be renewed as long as an occupant is currently enrolled or currently teaching at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Terms of Use

• Assignment of study carrels is intended to provide eligible students a place to work on a project or conduct research on a regular basis during the period for which the carrel is assigned.
• To protect patron privacy, library staff will not divulge carrel assignments to outside parties. However, shared carrel occupants may be provided the contact information of other carrel occupant to set up time-sharing agreements.
• All library policies apply to study carrels, including no use of cell phones.
• Graduate study carrels are available for use only during the hours the library is open.
• Library staff regularly conduct carrel inspections and will remove any library materials not properly checked out, open food and any other items in violation of the terms of use.
• Library materials kept in carrels must be checked out to the assigned occupant. Library materials located in study carrels are subject to overdue notices, recalls, and other library policies. The carrel assignment may be revoked immediately if the library finds the following within the carrel:
• circulating library property that is not checked out to the assignee
• non-circulating items such as reference materials and journals
• Food is not allowed in library carrels. Please do not consume or store food items in your carrel. Beverages are allowed in covered cups.
• Personal belongings may be kept in the carrel's locking bins; however, neither the University of Nebraska Omaha nor the library assume any responsibility for damage to, theft, or loss of personal property kept on or in the carrels and their associated bins and drawers. It is recommended that valuable property, (e.g. laptops, cell phones, etc.) not be left in the carrels.
• All library materials left unattended on the carrel work surface will be collected and re-shelved during the regular course of library operations.
• Study carrels are not soundproof. Please be considerate of other library users.
• Nothing is to be permanently posted or attached in any way to the walls, furniture, or any other surface or area in the carrel.
• A carrel is to be used exclusively by the person to whom it has been assigned and cannot be loaned or transferred to another party. Patrons who loan or transfer their carrels to another party will lose checkout privileges to that carrel.
• Carrels not in regular use should be surrendered. If you find that you are not making use of your carrel, please inform the Main Service Desk and return both keys so that the carrel may be reassigned.
• If scheduling conflicts arise between carrel occupants, one or both of the occupants may move to another available carrel. Library staff reserves the right to restrict carrel changes if they become too frequent.

Theatre Room

The Theater Room is available to UNO students, faculty, and staff for up to three hours. Academic use of this room will supersede non-academic use.

Keys are available for checkout at the circulation desk. A consent form must be signed each semester. The key is the sole responsibility of the user to whom it is checked out. Do not give the key to other members of the group. Rooms that have been reserved but are not checked out within 15 minutes after the start time will be released for use by another group.

Terms of Use

• Room is only for viewing/discussion of film and multi-media productions. X-Rated films cannot be viewed in this room.
• Academic use of this room supersedes non-academic use.
• Only current UNO faculty, staff, and students are eligible to reserve the Theater Room, which may be booked four weeks in advance and may be booked for up to a three hour period. The theater room is available for booking during all library hours.
• The patron is responsible for the key at all times during the check out period and is liable for any damage incurred during that time.
• If equipment or room is damaged, the patron will be fined based on the amount of damage, a hold will be placed on their account with the Office of the University Registrar and the patron will lose all checkout privileges until the fine is paid.
• Transcripts will be held until the fee is paid.
• If you are 15 minutes late for your reservation, it may be cancelled due to the high demand of the space.

Instruction Labs Policy

Scheduling

• Rooms 112, 232, and 249 are kept available for library instruction throughout the months of September and October in the fall, and February and March in the spring. Because instructional sessions have first priority, we reserve the right to cancel non-instruction bookings up to a week in advance during these four months.
• For all other months, reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis. Rooms are booked using this form: https://libcal.unomaha.edu/reserve/spaces/instructionlabs. Same day bookings must be confirmed at the main service desk. For special requests please email: UNO-libraryrooms@unomail.onmicrosoft.com
• The labs are for library and information literacy instruction, as well as public labs for our library users, and cannot be scheduled for semester long instruction.
• Only faculty and staff may book an instruction lab.
• Labs are not to be used for events charging fees for admittance.

Condition of Room

• The rooms are to be left neat and clean.
• Return all seating to original configuration.
• Computer connections are not to be tampered with.
• Computers and video projector are to be shut down unless there is a class immediately following. (Please check the schedule outside the classroom.)

*Room 249 may be exempted from this policy if the room is being booked for collaborative learning or if the technology in the room is pedagogically necessary to the class.